Exploring Harry Potter's Life
by Hey There Pretty Brown Eyes
Summary: Umbridge's textbook for DADA class has been deemed outdated and harmful by Harry Potter himself. She wants revenge, unfortunately, lines are no longer working, she needs to take matters in a slightly different direction. I HAVE PERMISSION TO POST THIS FROM LADY CELESTIAL STAR!
1. Chapter 1

Umbridge was watching her class, which contained Gryffindors and Slytherins, as they read her "Ministry Approved" textbook. She was confident in the knowledge that now, there was no way that they were going to rise up against the Ministry. That was everyone's (who was truly loyal to the Ministry anyway) worst fear, an army of students being commanded by that doddering old fool, Dumbledore.

She took a particular pleasure in watching young Mr. Potter read through the book and write some notes down with a scowl on his face. Nothing seemed to brighten her day then to see the horrible little liar get taken down several pegs.

"_Ahh...being a teacher to small little children is so wonderful_" she thought with a large smirk on her toad like lips.

If she had moved a little closer towards the young, raven haired lad she would have noticed him writing in a small black book. Unfortunately for her, she didn't know that it wasn't anything that spelt good news for her.

After the bell had rang to signal that it was the end of class, Harry, Hermione and Ron had wandered down to the Great Hall for lunch. Harry was still writing into his little black notebook as they walked and that, in itself, attracted Hermione's attention.

"Harry, what are you writing?" she said trying to peer into the small book.

Harry looked sideways at her and smiled. "Something that will completely eradicate that sorry excuse for fiction she insists that we read."

Hermione frowned at this.

"Harry, while it's true that the book preaches non-practical use of magic, it is still reasonably sound, the Ministry would have checked out all the facts. The Department of Magical Education wouldn't let the book past them without it having at the very least 95% truth to it." she said shortly.

Harry smirked "One word, Lockhart." and with that he turned away from the Great Hall's staircase and traveled onto the direction in which the library was located. Hermione wanted to follow him, but Ron held her back.

"Leave him be, when he gets this way, you know it will be good." he said with a wicked grin on his face.

"How can you say that! Every time he plans or thinks he knows what's really going on, it turns out he's wrong. Name one time that he was right and I was wrong." said Hermione with a slightly snobby attitude.

"One word, Lockhart" said Ron with that same evil grin, as he took an embarrassed Hermione by the hand and led her to the Great Hall.

Thankfully it was only a half-day that day because Harry didn't reappear to them until dinner had already started. They even went to the library to find him and try as they might. It was to no avail. Madam Pince had shuffled them both out, with a strange smile on her face, telling the both of them that Harry didn't want to be disturbed. It was no secret that even she held some contempt for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

When he arrived in the Great Hall, he wasn't carrying anything except for a small white envelope and his little black book, the strange thing was, he wasn't alone. A tall, stern looking man came walking up behind him.

As Harry stopped he held up the small envelope, the man walked past him and snatched the envelope right out of his hand, without even stopping. Harry gave a small smile and placed both hands into his pocket, leaned back on his right foot and smirked up to Umbridge, who didn't have any inkling of what was going on, but she did look quite frightened.

"Delores, how _nice_ to see you again." said the man with an indifferent look upon his face.

Umbridge gulped. "H..Hello, R...R...Rivers. Nice to s..see you t..too."

"Do you have any idea, why I am here this evening?" said Rivers still looking indifferent, but ripping open the envelope and reading it quickly.

She shook her head quickly. He looked down at his chest and slowly shook his head. While he held the bridge of his nose in his left hand, he put the letter in the pocket of his cloak and pulled out a copy of her textbook.

"Recognize this?" when she nodded quickly, he continued. "I received a message from a very concerned student that you were teaching, outdated, unproven and harmful material in class."

"What do you mean, outdated, unproven and harmful? That book was certified by the International Department of Magical Education!" she said indignantly.

"True, it WAS certified by my department. In 1921. Since then the 'Theory of Glympdons Conjurtor' alone has caused many people who have tried to defend themselves with its so-called aid to suffer lifelong injuries. And that is the entire basis of the book! None of the other theories in it or any better. In fact, they are several times worse."

He then waved his wand over his head and every last copy of the Defense Against the Dark Art textbook was summoned to him. Then, they were gone.

"I'm going to be _real_ nice and give you two weeks to get a better book for the students to learn from. If you don't have a better book, that teaches them BOTH theory AND practical, I will find a teacher that will. Oh yes, I almost forgot, you have to run the books by me first. No going past me and authorizing them to the Minister. I can make damn sure that the people higher up on the food chain then him find out about your little stunts." He then turned on his heel and walked towards the door. He stopped when he reached Harry.

"Thanks for letting us know. God knows what kind of damage she could have done." Harry smiled in response. When Rivers left, Umbridge sent Harry a murderous look. Harry only smirked back and the teachers shared in the joy of bringing that old toad some well-deserved misery. The rest of the school stood up and applauded Mr. Potter, including even some of the Slytherins, and just to aggravate her, Harry took a bow.

After dinner Umbridge left the Great Hall, slammed her office door shut behind her. She couldn't believe it, beaten by a lying, spoiled, mentally challenged, brat! She wasn't going to let this slide, though she didn't know how she was going to get even with that little beast. Then, that very same "beast" came in through the door to her office. Umbridge looked up, a little confused, but then she remembered that she had given him a week long detention, and this was the last of those joyful nights. Tonight she was going to do something _different_.

He made to sit down, but she grabbed his arm and gave him a vicious smile. He had seen that kind of look in his Uncle Vernon's eyes and he knew that he was not going to go to bed tonight without shedding half a pint of his own blood. But she wouldn't be that stupid to do something like that in a school. Not with Dumbledore's office a few floors away.

She walked over to a small picture of Filch's ragged cat, Mr. Norris and nodded at it. The mangy old cat then meowed and turned and hurried off. Filch then came into the room, grinning ear to ear and his grin grew bigger when he saw Harry looking between the two of them.

"Not going to do the normal lines then, I take it?" said Harry, looking at Filch with curiosity, yet edging slightly away from the two of them.

"Not in the slightest Mr. Potter. My little reminder doesn't seem to help you not to tell lies." she said, with that large sneer on her toad like face.

"Actually it does, that's why I sent Mr. River's that owl." he smirked, wiping the grin off the horrible teacher's face. But then it came back in full force. She nodded towards Filch, who then brought out a...

"What's the whip for?" said Harry getting a little nervous now, but his voice didn't reveal it. Both sadists just smiled and moved forward, slowly. He backed up into the desk, and looked round quickly, there was no escape.

Three hours later he finally reached the seventh floor. He had to double over and get his breath to slow down quite a few times. His entire torso was on fire and his legs couldn't carry him anymore, after Filch and Umbridge both took the whip to him for the past three hours he had to hurry down to the school laundry room and wrap his bleeding chest, legs and back with one and a half sheets. It looked as if he gained the twenty pounds that Madame Pomfrey had always wanted him to. He tried to remember what had happened, but some of the parts were starting to get a little fuzzy and he felt himself getting colder and colder. He was getting very dizzy and he wasn't able to keep his eyes to stay focused. He had some healing potions in his trunk just for emergencies, now the only problem was getting to them, he was getting very tired.

Then a voice came from behind him, Harry slowly turned around and saw McGonagall come up the stairs. "Didn't you hear me Potter? I asked you what you were doing out so late, it's about five minutes after curfew." she said sternly.

Harry opened his mouth to answer "Long detention" when he couldn't stand anymore and he started to fall over the railing of the moving staircase. Professor McGonagall screamed and made a grab for him as he tumbled over. She managed to grab his foot and magicked him back onto the stairs.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING BOY?! WHAT'S WRONG WITH..." she stopped short. She kneeled down quickly laid his head on her lap and felt his forehead, he was burning up with fever. She noticed the sheets under his robes and lifted the layers, she screamed a second time, only this one was louder.

The teachers, who were patrolling the top floors, came running up from all different directions and the Gryffindor students came running when they heard both screams. Students were standing above and teachers below the sobbing Transfigurations Professor. Dumbledore came hurrying to where the throng of people stood and saw Harry laying in his Head of House's lap. His face paled.

"Minerva?" said Flitwick cautiously. She looked wildly around, this scared her poor Gryffindors to no ends. They thought she had gone mad. Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny, or Neville couldn't get to the front of line no matter how hard they tried. They couldn't see that it was Harry that she was crying about.

McGonagall was looking for Snape and when he came to the front, she pulled him done roughly to his knees and lifted the sheets, so little that only he could see. He was so taken aback that he landed backwards into Dumbledore's knees.

"What is it? What is wrong?" he asked Snape. However, the Potions Master did not respond to him. He then scrambled back and started whipping out potions and administering them to the fevered boy. Once Harry was stable enough to be moved, they whisked him off to the Hospital Wing, it was there that the Weasely's and Hermione saw that the injured student was Harry, and they had to hold each other to stop themselves from falling down in shock.

Harry's fever didn't break till a week later, the entire school (including the Slytherins) were happy to see the young man come down to the Great Hall. But they were horrified to see that he had to lean on a cane and was followed by a harassed looking Madam Pomfrey.

"You should have stayed in bed Potter! You're still very weak from losing all that blood!"

"I feel fine, I was losing the feeling in my legs from all the laying around. This gets me the exercise that I need and besides," he added with a look towards the Gryffindor table. "I want to see Hermione and Ron. You never let them in to see me that I know of."

He hobbled over to Ron and Hermione and they both rushed to him and took him in their arms. Harry gritted his teeth, they had clutched at him too quickly and too tightly, but he allowed them to hold onto him as tight as they wanted. They exchanged no words but just held onto each other, then Fred, George and Ginny came over and enshrouded Harry even further. After five minutes of just standing there hugging, they helped Harry to the table and began loading a plate for him.

"Mr. Potter, I have a question for you." said Professor Dumbledore, who had happened to stand behind Harry. Harry looked up at him, for the first time that year their eyes met. Harry couldn't help but smile. Dumbledore sighed with relief, not sensing any redness in his eyes or hatred in his mind.

"Do you remember who had left you in that state that forced you to go to the Hospital Wing?"

Everyone in the Hall leaned forward, eager to duel out some intense judgment to the person responsible. Even Malfoy fingered his wand in anticipation. He disliked Potter, but he really didn't HATE him. Not enough to actually wish him_ that _kind of harm to happen to him. Umbridge and Filch looked deadly pale and nervous, nobody noticed this, with the exception of Professor Snape. He made a mental note to tell Dumbledore his suspicions.

Harry shook his head. " I don't remember, I can only remember leaving the Great Hall to go to detention."

"Whom did you serve detention with that night?" asked Dumbledore quickly.

"Umbridge"

Students and teachers whipped around swiftly and stared. Umbridge composed herself quickly and stated. "He never made it to my detention that night. As a matter of fact, you owe me another one for not showing up, you now have to serve two more nights." she reverted back to her smug self. The students and staff stared at her in shock, but the dam finally broke.

"NO, HE MOST CERTAINLY WILL NOT!" screamed the staff. None more louder than Professor McGonagall.

DUMBLEDORE, DON'T LET HER! HE WAS INJURED! shouted the students.

IT WAS NO FAULT OF HIS OWN!" screamed the entire staff and student body.

Harry looked around dazed, unsure of what was going on. Dumbledore nodded gravely.

"I will not allow her to do so. Harry won't be serving detention for quite some time. I will also say that you, Harry, are not to attend classes until you are well." said Dumbledore reassuring the students and staff.

"I'm fine" said Harry tiredly.

"You save that particular statement for the periods of time that you are most gravely injured it seems." said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling, but with a sad smile upon his lips. "More of a reason for us who care deeply for you to have you, as they say in the Muggle world. 'sit this one out.' "

The entire school, besides Umbridge and Filch, nodded yes. Filch continued to shake fearfully, but Umbridge was furious. Just then, an owl came fluttering down to her and deposited a note, she opened it with her pink, kitten shaped letter opener and read it. Her eyes danced madly. She had him now! She had them both!


	2. Chapter 2

Despite River's warning, Umbridge didn't even try to find a different book for her classes. As a matter of fact she didn't even try to accomplish anything in her class. The students, besides Harry who would spend his days in Dumbledore's office, would be getting homework done that they had acquired in other classes. She never noticed them, she was too busy sitting in her chair and counting down the hours in which her plan would take action.

Harry and Dumbledore spent the passing days discussing things that had no real importance. They would discuss the weather, different sweets they both enjoyed and even Quidditch games. Dumbledore was more relaxed around Harry now that he realized that Voldemort wouldn't dare venture into Harry's pure and wholesome mind. However he was ashamed that he had abandoned the poor boy when he needed him the most. Mentally, he promised that he would never let this boy down again.

He was still trying to find out what had happened to his young protege, but nothing came of it. He knew something had happened in Umbridge's office, but what it was, was a mystery to him. He subtley grilled Harry, asking him what had happened, but the poor boy's memory had been blocked by the fever, discovering what had happened would take time.

Harry still had to continue using his cane, so Dumbledore made sure he got down to the Great Hall for dinner alright. McGonagall came rushing up to the pair of them.

"Albus! Umbridge brought the Minister and several Ministry officials here!" she looked pale and nervous. She had not been the same since she had found Harry, nearly dying on the staircase.

"What is it that they want?" said Dumbledore placing a protective arm around Harry's shoulders.

"They said something about Potter's past, bringing the truth to light. What do they mean by that?" said McGonagall, also throwing an arm around the young man's shoulders. Harry kept looking between the two of them. For some reason, since the fever, he was a little slow on the uptake. But talking to Dumbledore about different things, kept building up his mental strength like it used to be.

"I wonder, did you see anything being carried in by the officials? An orb, a mirror, anything? said Dumbledore, eyes slowly taking on even brighter twinkle. "Books?"

McGonagall paused in thought and gasped. "Yes! They were carrying seven books, each one a different color. With silver and gold numbers on each one, one through seven."

"How do you remember that?" said Harry in awe.

"Photographic memory. Her's is slightly more, we shall say, powerful then yours dear boy. As for these books, in the long run we have nothing to fear from them. We know we are telling the absolute truth. It will only strengthen our side."

"Albus, what do you mean, do you know what these books are?" she said gaping at the elderly man.

"Those books are forged from an ancient magic that was used to compose our history for us. We would only have to drop a single blot of blood on its pages and the history of that person would be written, first chapter would entail the significant information of their first year of birth then it would start before the subject's eleventh birthday. That time of age has always been a very important day since the very beginning of magical time. Then it would continue for seven more years. The all-powerful number, Harry, remember that. " said Dumbledore down to Harry, his eyes still twinkling.

"Then what do we do about it Albus?" said McGonagall anxiously.

"Summon the Order, including Sirius, but advise him to stay in his canine form, we don't want him whisked away. Also, invite the Diggorys, Book four should have the painful, but necessary truth behind their son's unfortunate passing. Bill and Charlie Weasely would get some information from this reading to be sure."

"Why would the Ministry read my story in front of everyone?" said Harry, catching on, slowly but surely. Dumbledore sent a warm smile to the young man.

"To spread their belief that you and I are on our way to 'The Funny Farm' as you youngsters like to keep telling me."

"I've never said that to you Professor!" cried Harry in disbelief.

"Which is sad, everyone has a different way of saying it and I enjoy in hearing the different interpretations. Your friend Ron refers to me as 'off my rocker' that may very well be my favorite one."

By the unwanted orders of Madam Delores Jane Umbridge, the entire school was summoned down to the Great Hall. Dumbledore and Harry stood in the middle of the Great Hall and watched as the members of the Ministry and Order came into the ancient Hall that was the place of wonderful memories for everyone who came in those great doors.

"This is a private reading Albus." said Umbridge with her trademark smirk.

"If it is a private reading, then why are the students here? They cannot possibly keep a secret, that, alas, is the curse of youth." Dumbledore stated calmly, eyes twinkling madly. "Also, you have Rita Skeeter here, she of all people cannot be trusted with secrets or privacy." his eyes lost their twinkle as they gazed at her. She shuddered. He looked back at the head table and resumed his twinkling. "It's Mr. Potter's life you are reading, and it concerns this school and the people around him. They have every right to the knowledge quietly festering in those books."

Umbridge could find no argument with that, though she did try to make an effort, but Madam Bones cleared her throat and shook her head sternly. Umbridge reluctantly gave up. Dumbledore then turned to the rest of the school and described to them what the books were. The same explanation he gave McGonagall and Harry. Now, after his small speech, he was happily answering questions, though Hermione and a few Ravenclaws were the only ones asking them.

"Professor, how could it write the last two books if they hadn't happened yet?" asked Padma.

"Ah, Miss Patil, there we get into some very, very advanced and ancient magic that, if you may believe, I myself do not fully understand. But I know that in order to actually read Mr. Potter's future, he would have to hold each book and follow it's instructions. For every wizard or witch it is different."

"How do you mean?" said Padma, still a little confused.

"Well, the one of the last times the books were used, I believe Merlin had to hold the books to his head. The books instantly filled with knowledge. But I have heard that at other times, wizards and witches had to give more blood or even kiss the book. It could possibly be anything. But nothing that permanently harms the subject of the books." said Dumbledore smiling to all the students.

Harry looked up at him, with a question of his own burning in his own heart, and he was feeling ill because of it.

"Professor, whatever happens in these things, will we be held accountable?" he said quietly. Professor Dumbledore smiled down to him and patted his head. Harry heard a distinct sniff coming from behind him at the staff table.

_'No one should have that close contact with a child, disgusting.'_ thought Umbridge.

"The things that you are talking about are called books, my dear boy and absolutely not, whatever mischief you got into in these books you had already gotten away with it. It would be unfair to punish you or anyone else. The same however cannot be the same for adults, they may be held for things they do. Mr. Weasely's flying car, for example, he cannot be fined again for it being enchanted. But if anyone were to hurt you physically, I am happy to say that they will be punished most severely. Even if I must do it myself." Dumbledore held onto his normal smile and glittering eyes, that is until the last statement. Then his eyes grew cold furious, Harry saw this and saw the man that defeated Grindewald. Not the man who he had come to think of as a grandfather.

Umbridge smirked down to them and said in her simpering voice.

"Now, Albus, you cannot possibly think that the Minister would pass up the opportunity to punish the boy, something you have obviously failed to do."

"I have never failed in, 'punishing' him. Especially when he really deserves it. Why, as matter of fact, in his second year after he arrived in the flying car I made it known to him that I was very disappointed in him." said Dumbledore looking up to her.

"I wish you had just screamed at me, at that point, anything was better then you looking the way you did." said Harry looking down. Dumbledore patted his back and Harry looked up to the man and smiled.

"Delores, we won't hold any child accountable for what happens in these books. Or anyone else, you know better than to threaten that. These books cannot be used in a court of law. Unless they are to prove someone's innocence, not guilt. It's a strange law, but one I must uphold." said Madam Bones majestically. Umbridge scowled.

"Now that everything is all explained to suit the answers of students." said Dumbledore giving the staff a knowing smile. "Let us begin, who shall read first?"

"I will" said Madam Bones reaching for the book.

Dumbledore conjured cushions on the floor, some students moved from their tables and went to lay on the floor. Dumbledore led Harry to a large bowl like chair that laid on the floor and was filled with soft pillows and blankets. It was large enough for Lupin, Sirius (dog form) Hermione, Ron and Ginny to fit inside it and give some Harry some support.

Harry leaned back into Lupin's chest and ran his fingers over Sirius's coat.

"You're awfully affectionate today." said Lupin with a smile.

"I'm still a litte tired. Deal with it." he said cheekily.

"The title of the first book is **Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone**and the first chapter is **The Boy Who Lived**" said Madam Bones.

"Here we go." sighed Harry shaking his head.


	3. Chapter 3

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.

"You're welcome." said Luna in a dream-like voice. The Hall was riddled with the snorts of people trying to hold their laughter.

"SILENCE!" demanded Umbridge forgetting her sickly sweet voice.

"Now Delores." said Madam Bones. "You can't expect them to just sit there and listen to this, do you? Let them voice their opinions, it will make the reading more, let's say, 'attention holding.'"

"She's got that right." said Fred.

"Imagine, just sitting here and listening to Harry's boring life." said George with a smirk.

"We need to spice things up a bit!" both twins said with a laugh.

**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.**

"Wow, Harry, you've got awfully boring relatives" said Lee Jordan with a big grin.

"Makes us appreciate our family a lot more." said Ron with a look towards the twins and Percy, who was sitting beside the Minister.

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings,**

"I knew a Grunning once," said Bathilda Bagshot who had just entered the Great Hall and sat down near Hagrid's seat at the teacher's table. "I don't think it's the same one though. He died almost a hundred years ago."

**which made drills**.

"Most definitely not him. Hardly would do anything if magic wasn't involved." she said shaking her head quickly.

**He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck,**

The entire school erupted in laughter.

"Don't they sound like people Romance Novels are made from?" said a seventh year Slytherin wiping tears from her eyes.

"Walrus and Horsie siting in a tree! K...I...S...S...I..N...G!" sang the twins and Lee at the top of their lungs to the applause of the school.

**which came in useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors.**

"She never changed, go figure." muttered Snape.

**The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley**

Harry however was confused.

"Wait a minute, did that just call Dudley small?" he asked loudly. The Weasely children and Hagrid both laughed.

**and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.**

"That's not right, the best guy in the world is right here." said Fred patting Harry's back. The people who knew Harry nodded, including the teachers. Harry quickly blushed.

"And he is now the most embarrassed guy in the world." said George with a snigger.

**The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it.**

"Well, we're about to find out about it, aren't we?" said Ernie from the Hufflepuff table.

**They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters. Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years;**

"That's sad. I don't think I could go years without talking to my sister." said Padma. She then moved towards Pavarti and sat beside her. The Weasely's all agreed and came to sit closer together then before.

**in fact , Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister and her good-for-nothing husband**

Lupin stood up and glared at the book. His eyes flashing dangerously. There wasn't a person on the other side of those eyes, that didn't flinch. Even the dog on Harry's knee was growling viciously. Harry looked at Sirius and then Lupin, he grabbed his cane and slowly stood up. He took ahold of Lupin's arm and tugged it towards himself. Lupin turned quickly around and glared at the owner of the hand. His eyes softened considerably when he saw Harry and noticed that he didn't flinch at his look. He then pulled him into a big hug and helped the teen back to the chair. Even the dog whimpered as he put his nose back on Harry's knee.

**were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be.**

"Thank bloody God." growled Lupin, rubbing Harry's right arm up and down, in a fatherly way.

**The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This Boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

"Yeah, you wouldn't want 'poor little Dudley' to become nice." said Fred.

"Or generous" replied George

"Brave"

"Selfless"

"Gentle"

"Smart"

"Funny"

"Noble"

"AND TRUTHFUL" bellowed the twins towards the High Inquisitor. She only scowled

_I wouldn't want my children messing around with that dirty little liar either. These muggles have the right idea._ thought Umbridge nastily.

Harry was too busy to notice the small smirk of the Defense teacher, he had his buried in Lupin's shoulder, blushing furiously. "I'm not any of those things."

"You might not think so, but that's our opinion." said Lupin with a smile.

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts,**

"Didn't it already start?" asked Malfoy, curiously.

"ENOUGH WITH THE INTERRUPTIONS!" cried Umbridge. Malfoy looked insulted.

"Leave the kids alone!" said Madame Bones. "You brougt this up here, you'll have to take their comments and like it."

**there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work,**

"Harry, why would he pick out a boring tie?" asked Mr. Weasley. "I get one for Father's Day every year and I can honestly say, none of them are boring. My favorite one is the one where it whistles a tune all day. Kids all chipped in and got it for me." he finished, beaming towards his kids.

Most of the Ministry people smiled at that. Every year on Father's day, Arthur would go around the Ministry and show off his ties. He was so proud of his children, and they loved to see the glimmer in his eyes when he spoke of them.

"He hates to stand out. I'm more amazed that he was humming." said Harry deep in thought.

"Why is that? People hum all the time." said Flitwick, an avid music lover.

"He doesn't allow music in the house. I don't remember the last time I even hummed, there anyway." Harry looked thoughtful, not noticing the incredulous looks from the people around him. Professor Flitwick clutched at his heart and nearly fainted.

**and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.**

"Umm...we weren't like that when we were younger, were we mom?" asked Ginny looking sideways at her mother.

"No, you and your brothers were very well behaved when you were babies. Even the twins were little angels. At that age, anyway." she smiled mischievously. The Weasely children released a large sigh of relief.

**None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.**

**At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek,**

"QUICK! GET SOME DISINFECTANT!" yelled Ron. His brother's fell off their seats and cushions clutching their sides. Harry laughed along with them, maybe this book wasn't so bad.

**and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing cereal at the walls.**

"And he doesn't see anything wrong with that behavior? What a stupid man." growled Sprout.

**"Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.**

**It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar - a cat reading a map.**

"I know who that is!" chanted Harry with a smile.

"How would you know? It doesn't describe what the cat looks like." said Hermione with a frown.

"I saw a cat reading the street sign one morning when I was six. I walked up to it and sat there petting it all day, I even named her, and I found her five years later."

"Where?" asked Hermione, still not believing him.

"Here, turns out it was Professor McGonagall's animagus form, imagine my shock." he said grinning ear to ear. The Transfiguration teacher smiled broadly back.

"What was the name you gave her?" asked Fred with a smirk.

Harry looked up to McGonagall, she smiled proudly. "He called me 'Tootsie'. I've been called 'Minnie' in that form, but you Mr. Potter, came up with a name that actually fits my animagus form."

"You never told me you went to Privet Drive. Did he tell you anything we should be worried about?" said Dumbledore quietly.

"No, he didn't say a word about anything else, besides giving me a name and asking if I liked it, he was very thin though. We both just sat on the sidewalk. Whole day went by." said McGonagall quietly to him.

**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen -then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight.**

"Wow, you're quick." said Fred whistling.

**What could he have been thinking of? It must have a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the car. Its stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive - no,**_**looking**_** at the sign; cats couldn't read maps **_**or**_** signs.**

_"Tootsie can" _thought Harry with small smile.

**Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.**

"He doesn't even think about his family, just his darn business deals." muttered Madame Pomfrey.

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed in funny clothes - the getups you saw on young people!**

"I have seen the outfits young muggle adults wear. They are wonderfully eccentric." said Dumbledore smiling brightly.

**He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak!**

"What is odd about that?" said a little first year Ravenclaw.

"That isn't normal in the Muggle world." said Hermione quickly.

**The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt - these people were obviously collecting for something...yes, that would be it.**

"Collecting? What is this Muggle talking about?" questioned Malfoy.

**The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.**

"Didn't take him too long, not much must go on in his head." stated a Ravenclaw.

**Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. **_**He **_**didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did;**

"Why were the owls going nuts?" asked Blaise.

"It was from all the letters of joy that were being sent around Britain that day." said Snape.

**they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.**

"Your Uncle Vernon needs to settle down I think." said Professor Lupin to Harry.

Harry couldn't tell him that his temper was pretty easy going, that day by the sound of it.

**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime,**

"Wait a minute, if that is a good mood, then...Harry, did your uncle ever get angry with you?" asked Lupin, looking sideways at Harry. The dog whimpered. Harry looked down and refused to answer him, he motioned to Madam Bones to continue reading. Madam Bones did rather reluctantly.

**when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery.**

"Figures, the only way he'd actually do some exercise was to get a doughnut." muttered Harry darkly.

**He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy.**

"He makes us uneasy too." said Charlie thoughtfully.

Bill nodded.

**This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.**

**"The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard-"**

**"-yes, their son, Harry-"**

People in the Great Hall turned to look at him. Harry just looked down.

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whispers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it.**

**He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone,**

"How did he get so high up to have a secretary?" asked Hermione. "It isn't his personality."

"He had to step on and destroy a bunch of people to get where he is." said Harry.

**and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking...no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew was called Harry**

"HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW YOUR NAME?!" screamed Mrs. Weasely. Harry only looked down. Now he could see the giant problem with the books. He was having all of his secrets exposed. This wasn't fair.

**He had never even seen the boy.**

"Lily wanted to take you to meet her sister, but her sister always said they were going to be out of town those days." said Lupin sadly.

**It might have been Harvey. Or Harold. There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her - if **_**he'd**_** had a sister like that...**

"Yeah, like _your _sister is any better." said Harry rolling his eyes.

**but all the same, those people in cloaks...**

**He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.**

**"Sorry, " he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell.**

"I'm amazed it didn't kill that poor guy." said Harry bemusedly.

"I'm much more sturdier built then most people give me credit for, Mr. Potter." said the Charms Professor kindly.

**It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare,**

"They just aren't used to my beautiful tenor voice." said Professor Flitwick haughtily.

"No denying that." said Bill with a smile.

**"Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"**

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.**

"It wasn't easy hugging that man, I couldn't even get my arms halfway around his middle." said Flitwick with a smirk.

**Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.**

"Yeah Harry, imagination is a very bad thing." said George with straight face.

"Just look at us." said Fred, the school erupted in laughter.

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw - and it didn't improve his mood - was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning.**

"Why were you all day, Professor?" asked a third year Gryffindor to his Head of House.

"You will hear about it very soon." she said, eyes misting.

**It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.**

**"Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.**

**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look.**

"Even we knew that was going to happen. Same look she gives us when we tell her we didn't do anything." laughed Lee Jordan. Professor McGonagall's lips twitched slightly.

**Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together , he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.**

**Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley learned a new word (Won't).**

Mrs. Weasely and the teachers, except Umbridge, snarled at this. _"Spoiled brat"_

**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:**

**"And finally, bird watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight Jim?"**

**"Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars!"**

Dedalus Diggle blushed deeply

**"Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early - it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."**

**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters...**

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er - Petunia, dear - you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"**

**As he expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

"Too bad Lily didn't pretend. She was always upset that Petunia wouldn't talk to her." said Lupin sadly.

**"No," she said sharply. "Why?"**

**"Funny stuff on the news, " Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls...shooting stars...and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today..."**

**"**_**So?**_**" snapped Mrs. Dursley.**

**"Well, I just thought...maybe...it was something to do with...you know...**_**her **_**crowd."**

The entire Hall was silent. Then people started whispering, then talking until finally they were yelling

"OUR CROWD? WHAT DOES HE MEAN ABOUT THAT!?" They rounded on Harry and he just sank deeper into the cushions of the bowl. Lupin had to lean in front of the raven-haired youth and send a stern look back to the rest of the school.

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son - he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"**

**"I suppose so, said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.**

**"What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"**

**"Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

"Name may be common, but the person with it isn't" said Ginny angrily. All of Harry's friends shouted out in agreement and Dumbledore nodded. Harry buried his head in Lupin's chest again. Lupin just sat and smiled, he couldn't believe how humble Harry was, especially living in that household.

**"Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."**

**He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom. Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.**

**Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did...if it got out that they were related to a pair of - well, he didn't think he could bear it.**

**The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake,**

"Oh, thank Merlin, I was getting ready to be sick." said Fred holding his stomach.

**turning it all over in his mind. He last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters **_**were**_** involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind...**

"I only wished that Lily had confided in me what her sister really thought about her and James. I never would have brought Harry to them." said Dumbledore whispered. McGonagall, thought about reminding him that she told all she knew about the Dursleys, but thought better of it. She patted his arm.

**He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on - he yawned and turned over - it couldn't affect **_**them**_**...**

**How very wrong he was.**

"Wishful thinking." said Harry out loud, causing people to turn towards him and have concerned looks on their faces.

**Mr. Dursley might have been into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact , it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.**

**Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots.**

"At least you have more fashion sense then someone else I know." said Harry with a smirk.

"Mr. Potter! My wardrobe is the peak of fashion!" yelled Umbridge

"I never said I meant you, ma'am." said Harry innocently. Dumbledore chuckled silently to himself.

**His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

The entire school stood up and cheered. Even the ones who didn't believe Harry or Dumbledore.

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome.**

"You just love to go to places where you stick out like a sore thumb, don't you Albus?" said Bathilda Bagshot with a smile.

"I enjoy the look on people's faces." he said with a large grin.

**He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."**

"Glad I was a source of amusement for you, Albus." McGonagall said, folding her arms but the sides of her mouth were twitching.

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again - the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him.**

"AWESOME PROFESSOR!" yelled the twins. "Where did you get that thing?"

"I invented it myself many years ago, boys." said Dumbledore.

"Maybe we can make one ourselves, Fred." said George excitedly. Dumbledore chuckled over to them.

"I have no doubt that you can, and will. You have the same ingenuity that I myself possessed when I was younger." The twins grinned ear to ear and were even more hyped to start on their new goal.

**If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.**

**"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."**

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses, exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes.**

"I've always loved your glasses Professor." said Harry looking up at her admiringly. She blushed, which was extremely rare. "Living almost my whole life with giant, round glasses, it's really nice seeing something different."

"Yeah, you need a new pair badly. When this is done, I'll take you to the eyeglass shop in Diagon Alley." whispered Lupin to Harry, who beamed at him.

"But how are you going to pay for them? Nevermind, I'll pay."

"My cousin runs that shop, she won't charge me. She never does when I go in for reading glasses." said Lupin with smile.

**She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.**

**"How did you know it was me?" she asked.**

**"My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."**

"If you had asked Harry about ten years ago, Sir, he would have told you Tootsie." said the twins laughing. Then they stopped laughing and stared at McGonagall. She didn't seem angry.

"Aren't you going to yell at us?" said the twins, slightly disappointed.

"Absolutely not. I will never be embarrassed in spending a day with Harry when he was younger."

"Best day I ever had while at the Dursleys. I used that memory one time in my Patronus charm lessons."

"Is that the memory that broke all the windows in my office, because it was so large?" asked Lupin, Harry nodded. Lupin and McGonagall looked at each other with concern. Why was that memory so powerful? What was life Dursleys really like?

**"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.**

**"All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my here."**

**Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.**

**"Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right, " she said impatiently.**

**"You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no - even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursley's dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls...shooting stars...Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent - I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

Professor looked down at Dedalus horrified. She was about to profess her apologies, when he just smiled at her and nodded his head.

**"You can't blame them, " said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years.**

All the adults, besides Umbridge, bowed their heads in somber remembrance.

**"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."**

**She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-know Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggle found out about us all. I suppose he really **_**has**_** gone, Dumbledore?"**

"He HAS disappeared! He's never coming back." said Umbridge with authority.

"I'm not even going to argue, I'll let the books take over from here." said Harry dismissing her with a wave of his hand. She didn't like that one bit.

"You've to a week of detention with me Mr. Potter, for your cheek." said Umbridge with a scowl.

"You seem to forget Delores, Potter is excused from all detentions, especially those with you, until he is back to full health and we figure out what happened. As a matter of fact, the rest of the teachers will take care of any detentions you hand out to the students. You will not hold any detentions till the incident is resolved." said McGonagall sternly. The school erupted in cheers. The parents and guardians of the students that were there, looked concerned.

**"It certainly seems so, " said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

**"A **_**what**_**?"**

**"A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."**

"What is with you and your penchant for sweets, Dumbledore." said Kingsley with a smirk.

"I have a very demanding sweet tooth. I always have a large bowl of candy hidden away in my office. Except at Christmas time." grinned Dumbledore.

"What? What is so different about Christmas time? That's the only time I actually eat candy." inquired Kingsley with his eyebrows raised.

"For the past, oh I should say, four years, I've received a large box of these delightful raspberry and chocolate chip cookies." Dumbledore sat back in his chair, with a longing look in his eyes.

"I don't recall you offering anyone else these cookies, usually you offer anyone and everyone your sweets." said Pomfrey with a mock indignant look.

"I actually refuse to have anyone else have them. That is the one thing, I will not share. I just wish my secret baker would send me more than one box." he pouted. Seeing that look on their headmaster, the students and a few teachers started to giggle and snicker.

**"No, thank you, " said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops.**

"I'm sorry, Albus, but I was in no mood for sweets at that time." said McGonagall.

**"As I say, even if You-Know-Who **_**has**_** gone -"**

**"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense - for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name:**_**Voldemort.**_**" Professor McGonagall flinched,**

As did the rest of the school. Harry let out a sigh.

"Get a grip, people." said Harry rolling his eyes.

**but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemorts's name.**

Another wave a flinches went through the school, Harry groaned.

**"I know you haven't" said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know-oh, all right, **_**Voldemort**_**, was frightened of."**

**"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."**

"Only cause you're too noble to use them sir." said Harry up to the Head Table. Dumbledore smiled brightly and looked to McGonagall.

**"Only because you're too - well- **_**noble**_** to use them."**

McGonagall looked down to Harry and had a small smile.

**"It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madame Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**

"Old people can flirt? I didn't think they knew how!" laughed a seventh year Slytherin.

"You think you invented it all, do you?" sneered Pomfrey. That wiped the smile of his face in an instant.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the **_**rumors**_** that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"**

The entire hall went deadly silent. They all leaned forward.

**It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.**

**"What they're **_**saying,**_**" she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow."**

Lupin began to cringe and Sirius whined. Harry looked between the both of them, leaned on Lupin's arm and stroked Sirius's canine head.

**"He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are-are-that they're-**_**dead**_**."**

The entire school looked over to Harry, who just closed his eyes. They couldn't see the single tear sliding down his face. Everyone except Luna, who came over and caught that single tear in a vial. Harry looked at Luna with curiosity.

"You had a Squakdoon hovering over you. They take your pain and manifest it into a tear. If you catch the tear and keep it with you in a bottle, you won't feel the pain as intensely as you did before." she ran a thin red string through the loop at the end of the vial. She placed it around Harry's neck. Amazingly, he did feel quite a bit better.

Maybe there was some truth to what she sees.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.**

**"Lily and James...I can't believe...I didn't want to believe it...Oh, Albus..."**

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know...I know..." he said heavily.**

**Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry. But - he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke - and that's why he's gone."**

"Great, now starts the reason we all have to worship him." said Fudge with a smile on his face. However, that smile was ripped off his face when he was forced to dodge flying pieces of paper and several bottles of ink. Umbridge was livid.

"HOW DARE YOU ATTACK THE MINISTER OF MAGIC?! ONE HUNDRED POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR, MR. POTTER!"

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! HE DIDN'T THROW A DAMN THING! WE DID!" screamed the entire student body. Dumbledore looked quickly over to the giant hourglasses and smiled broadly.

"It seems that the magic of the books we are reading is prohibiting us from taking points away from any student." Umbridge ran over to the hourglasses and examined them. She didn't know what to think. Madam Bones ignored her and continued on.

**Dumbledore nodded glumly.**

**"It's - it's **_**true**_**?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done...all the people he's killed...he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding...of all the things to stop him...but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

"Something we would all love to know, Albus." mumbled Moody from the end of the Slytherin table.

**"We can only guess, " said Dumbledore. "We may never know."**

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge.**

"You have awesome toys, Professor." cheered Bill, who was sitting beside Charlie at the Gryffindor table.

**It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"**

"What did make you late that night, Hagrid" said Dumbledore leaning forward to speak to the Care of Magical Creatures Teacher.

"_Drunk probably, disgusting half-breed. The lot of them._" said Umbridge with a smug look.

Hagrid shifted slowly and looked towards Harry before answering.

"It took me and Sirius Black a little while to find Harry, sir. The part o' the house where he was, was completely destroyed. We 'ad ta move a few charred pieces o' lumber to get to 'im. Wasn't even cryin' just kept trying ta..." Hagrid took out a giant polka-dotted handkerchief and blew his nose. "kept trying ta cuddle up wid his momma. Get 'er to wake up." He howled so loud that it made the tables shake. Sirius looked up at Harry, whined and nuzzled his hand.

The school, minus Umbridge and the Minister, all looked down and started to cry. Dumbledore had to take a tissue that was offered by Madame Hooch. Every house table there was didn't hold a single dry eye. Harry looked down, he wanted to cry, but he couldn't. He felt the pain, but it didn't hurt as much as it should have. He looked at the little vial and saw the tear, it was glowing.

**"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me **_**why**_** you're here of all places?"**

**"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."**

"Not no more mate," said Ron thickly. Drying his eyes with the back of his sleeve. "You've got us now."

"And me." said Lupin pulling him into a tight hug. Sirius sat up and licked his face.

**"You don't mean - you **_**can't **_**mean the people who live **_**here**_**?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore - you can't. I 've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son - I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"**

**"It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly.**

"I couldn't be more ashamed of myself." said Dumbledore covering his face with his hands.

**"His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."**

"What...the...A LETTER?" said Mrs. Weasely standing up. "How are you going to explain everything in a letter! A little boy just lost both his mother and father in the same night, at the hands of the most psychotic man the world has ever known and you explain things in a LETTER?" Then she rounded on Harry. "What did the letter say?"

"I don't know, I wasn't aware they even got one." said Harry simply.

**"A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous - a legend - I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter Day in the future -"**

"For God's sake, tell me there isn't one." said Harry horrified.

"Actually, today is Harry Potter Day." said Madam Bones.

"Were you expecting presents today Potter?" sneered Umbridge.

"Absolutely not, but I'll give presents if you quit your job here." retorted Harry. The entire student body sniggered.

**"there will be books written about Harry - every child in our world will know his name!"**

**"Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head.**

"Despite the fact that I REALLY disapprove of you chucking my nephew into that place, I've got to admit, I would hate to see a Harry Potter that loved all the fame and attention. Good Lord, you would act just like your father did at your age now, an attention seeking prat." said Lupin running a hand over the mess of black hair. Harry snapped his head up to him.

"My dad was attention seeking?" he said, face falling.

"In the worst way possible. I can honestly say that your dad was not only a prat, but a spoiled brat" said Lupin fondly, his smile faded fast when he noticed how troubled Harry looked. "What's wrong?"

"Everyone says I act...like...him..." said Harry clutching his chest. He felt sick. Lupin looked horrified at how pale Harry had turned.

"When people say that 'you act like him' they mean the man he had grown up to become!" said Lupin quickly, trying to calm Harry's fears. "If they had meant that you acted like your dad when he first started, they would have taken you back to the proverbial woodshed so many times, it could have been your permanent address."

"Then how do I act?" whispered Harry fearfully, he didn't want to come acrossed as an attention seeking idiot, like his cousin Dudley. Did the Dursleys rub off on him after all?

"To be perfectly honest, you don't even act like your dad at any age, you are your mother's son, didn't matter who it was, she stood up for them. Just like what the twins said a few moments ago, that is what she was. And you are the _exact _same. A carbon copy." said Lupin pulling him in a tight embrace.

Madam Bones smiled down to them and ignored Umbridge's and Fudge's snorts of disbelief and continued.

**"Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember!"**

"Can everybody please try to remember that!" said Harry out loud.

**"Can't you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"**

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes - yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here. Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

"It really doesn't surprise me that you thought that, with all the things I have hidden away in my cloak." said Dumbledore with a grin.

**"Hagrid's bringing him."**

**"You think it - wise - to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"**

"Forgive me Hagrid. I didn't mean it the way it came I out...I...no I didn't mean it at all." said McGonagall pleadingly.

The staff looked sympathetically towards the Transfiguration Professor, McGonagall had been acting strangely, ever since she saw the horrible injuries on Harry that night, she was a little jumpy and quick to apologize. She would however stay her same strict fashion in classes, but the moment Harry would come on the scene, she would smile and continually ask him if he was alright. It took everything Harry had to try and calm her down and get her back to normal. He was making progress, but it would still take a long time for her to return to her usual self.

"I agree with McGonagall's statement in the book. I wouldn't trust a gamekeeper with anything other than a yard full of dirt. Especially the one Hogwarts's has." said Umbridge with her nose in the air.

Unbeknownst to anyone else, Hermione took a glob of magical putty from her bag, something she confiscated from the Weasely twins, and sent it magically over to the staff table and up Umbridge's upturned nose. It took several moments for it to come out and calm the students down. The twins gave Hermione a sly wink.

**"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore**

"Us too." said Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Hagrid beamed.

**"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place, " said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to - what was that?"**

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky - and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.**

Sirius let out a loud bark, jumped out of the bowl and ran around in a circle chasing his tail. The students all pointed at him and laughed.

"Love your dog, mate!" yelled Lee.

"I love my dog, too." said Harry fondly.

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so **_**wild**_** - long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins.**

"Who could that possibly be, Fred?" asked George.

"Wow, I really don't know George. Could it possibly be..." said Fred his twinkling.

"You know you could be right, it does sound like..." said George slowly.

"HAGRID!" yelled the entire Gryffindor table.

**In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

The girls and the majority of the teachers all sighed. "Awww" Harry put his hand to his face and covered his face, hiding a blush.

**"Hagrid, " said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"**

**"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."**

**"No problems, were there?"**

**"No, sir - house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."**

The same girls and women cooed at this as well.

_This is turning into a living hell._ Thought Harry.

Umbridge had a similar thought, this wasn't starting out the way she wanted. When were they going to get to some of his lies?

"What was Harry doing as you were flying before he fell asleep, Hagrid?" asked Hermione. Harry groaned at her, but Hagrid smiled at her.

"While we was flyin' he was tryin' to catch the stars with 'is little 'ands." said Hagrid smiling over to Harry, the girls squealed.

"I remember you doing that too, when we would take you for a nighttime ride. You loved flying." said Lupin fondly.

**Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.**

"Ooooh," and "Aww" rippled through the house tables.

**"Is that where -?" whispered Professor McGonagall.**

**"Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."**

**"Couldn't you do something about it Dumbledore?"**

Harry sat up straight, too fast, his wounds sent a pain through him in reproach and it took most of Harry's strength to not cry out.

**"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground."**

"Huh? Really, sir?" said a few Muggleborns.

**"Well - give him here, Hagrid - we'd better get this over with."**

_I wanted to get it over with, before I could change my mind. Now I'm wishing I did._ thought Dumbledore bitterly.

**Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursley's house.**

**"Could I - could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

Sirius let out a similar howl.

"How come that didn't wake you up Harry, you're a real light sleeper." asked Neville.

"Good quality to have Potter, never know when an enemy might come up and assassinate you." said Moody approvingly.

"Harry used to sleep like a log, Sirius would set off a firecracker under James's chair, wouldn't even make Harry flinch. Don't know what made that change." said Lupin with a furrowed brow. Harry said nothing.

**"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"**

**"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it - Lily an' James dead - an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles -"**

**"Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door.**

"You know Professor? At one time, I would have been a little irked that you didn't fight for me, but now, I can honestly say that I really can't blame you." said Harry kindly.

"Why is that Potter?" said Snape with his eyebrows raised.

"My aunt and uncle are real good actors when they want to be, from what I hear from this book, they aren't the people I know. There was no way you could have known just how much of a living hell I go through when I'm there." said Harry in an offhand manner. However, when the comment left his mouth and he realized what he said, his hand flew to his forehead, smacking it hard.

The rest of the students didn't catch the significance of it, but Harry's friends and the adults that a hint of the situation going on, turned a deadly shade of white. _What the hell went on during the summer?_

**He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blanket, and then came back to the other two.**

Silence, heavy, thick silence, like Harry had never heard before. People just sat in their seats, blinking and staring up at the Head Table. Finally a voice broke through the barrier, Mrs. Weasely was screaming at the top of her lungs.

"THIS WAS OCTOBER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING LEAVING HIM ON A DOORSTEP! THEY SAID IT WAS GOING TO RAIN THAT NIGHT! HE COULD HAVE FROZEN TO DEATH, GOTTEN SICK KIDNAPPED, WOKEN UP AND WANDERED OFF! WHAT WERE THE THREE OF YOU THINKING? WHAT IF HE HAD DIED THEN AND THERE! WE NEVER...NEVER..." after her shouting rant, she broke down in sobs. Not even her husband could console her.

Harry sighed, reached for his cane, which was sitting to Lupin's left and used it to get over to Mrs. Weasely. He sat beside her and embraced her. He said nothing, just hugged her. He motioned for Madame Bones to continue on reading, she herself had tears in her eyes.

"Harry, we should be the ones comforting you, not the other way around." squeaked Hermione. He looked over to her and took her pulled her close to him as well. Hermione couldn't contain it anymore, she bawled, not so much because of him being left in the cold, that was bad enough, but the thought of him, just not being there. She couldn't bare it. Her best friend gone, her first and best friend. It was too much to handle. He just held both of the women and made a soothing 'shh' sound.

"I took precautions." said Dumbledore quietly. "I placed a charm over him, so that he couldn't have been moved, except by his aunt or Uncle and no harm by persons, or nature could have befallen him."

**For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulder shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.**

"That's never a good thing." said Fred thickly, wiping a tear from his eye. Anger was replaced by worry in the realization that Mrs. Weasely had brought to light.

**"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."**

**"Yeah, " said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'd best get this bike away. G'night. Professor McGonagall - Professor Dumbledore, sir."**

**Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.**

**"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.**

**Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lights so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.**

**"Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.**

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up.**

**One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on,"**

"Aww! Sweet! You're so cute Harry!" said many of the seventh year girls. Harry buried his head in his hands.

"Yeah, what happened?" smirked Draco, Harry looked up at him.

"Same thing that happened to you." Draco's sneer slowly slid off his face. Both houses laughed.

**"not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley...He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter - the boy who lived!"**

"Well that's the end of the first chapter, Dumbledore." said Madame Bones looking over to the aged Headmaster. He now seemed to have aged a thousand years in an instant. He had tears falling freely down his crooked nose.


	4. Chapter 4

With all these interruptions, we will never get through all these books. I say that the next person to speak when they aren't reading should be removed from the Hall. Agreed? Good!" said Umbridge without looking to anyone for approval. Madame Bones sat and looked at her colleague with disgust.

"Who would like to read?" said Madam Bones, trying to ignore Umbridge. When Madam Hooch raised her hand, she levitated the book to the flying instructor and she started.

**Chapter Two: The Vanishing Glass**

People silently edged forward, one of every student's favorite conversation topics was accidental magic. It was always so hilarious when one talks about it. But Harry Potter's, they thought excitedly, should be amazing.

**Nearly ten years had passed..**

"Why did it skip so many years?" said Umbridge with furrowed brows.

The entire school went silent looking at her with amazement. Fudge smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand and Percy groaned. Several of the teachers started to snicker into their hands and Madam Bones looked smug.

"What? What is so funny?" said Umbridge indignantly.

"You just said that the next person to speak, that wasn't reading, would be kicked out. No one else spoke, just you." said Kingsley with his deep calm voice.

"I'm exempt from that rule of course. I'm the High Inquisitor." she replied with a sneer.

Down where Harry sat, a small recollection came to his thoughts.

_"Exempt...do...I...want...Minister..."_ it was fuzzy and not very clear, so Harry let it go.

"I think it would be better to just let the students and guests voice their opinions. I will not have that sort of behavior here, Delores." said Dumbledore sternly.

**since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all.**

"Surprise, surprise." said Ginny sarcastically. Mrs. Weasely sent her only daughter a scolding look. That however didn't seem to have much effect.

**The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursley's front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets -**

Laughter rang through the Great Hall.

"Harry, you are freaking hilarious!" yelled the twins

**but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby,**

"Oh yes he is!" said Ron loudly. Creating another round of laughter.

**and now the photographs showed a large blonde boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too.**

"Aren't you there anymore?" said the same first years that almost frozen in panic when Harry smiled at him at the start of school term. Harry nodded.

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day.**

"Why is it that you never seem to get to wake up peacefully?" asked Dean.

**"Up! Get up! Now!"**

**Harry woke with a start." His aunt rapped on the door again.**

"I can understand now how come you don't sleep very soundly anymore." said Lupin with a concerned tone. "I wouldn't be able to sleep all through the night if I had to wait for her to come knocking." Harry, nor Lupin noticed Snape nod in agreement.

**"Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

"You've got a damn good memory there Potter, very impressive." said Moody approvingly

"Too bad I can't remember what happened two weeks ago." said Harry quietly. Lupin gave him a small hug.

**His aunt was back outside the door.**

**"Are you up yet?" she demanded.**

**"Nearly," said Harry.**

**"Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn,"**

"They made you cook? You could have burnt yourself!" said Hermione incredulously.

"I haven't burnt myself for over ten years." shrugged Harry.

"What?" yelled Mrs. Weasely.

"I've been cooking for eleven years at the Dursleys. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Aunt Petunia never cooks anymore, unless I'm occupied."

"Define 'occupied'" said Lupin questioningly. Harry didn't answer.

"I actually really enjoy cooking. Funny thing is, they know I love to cook. They would rather have me happy at that one aspect, then eat Aunt Petunia's cooking. She sucks at it. Last time I remember her actually working in the kitchen was...when she baked Dudley a cake for his sixth birthday. Chocolate with strawberry icing. She wanted it to look real fancy, Dudley took a big bite out of it and spat it out on the floor. I tried it real quick, she got sugar and salt mixed up. It was real bad.

"She thought I threw the salt in it. Wasn't me, I was told that I had to weed the garden that day while she baked the cake. Wasn't pretty, what she did." said Harry, unconcerned about the past hint of abuse, but focusing on the fond memory of cooking over the years.

His friends and the adults around were concerned. How was he punished for something he didn't do?

**I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday."**

**Harry groaned.**

**"What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door.**

**"Nothing, nothing..."**

**Dudley's birthday - how could he have forgotten? Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on.**

"Harry, mate, did you have to mention you _pulling off_ a _spider_ from your sock." cringed Ron. The twins snickered, until their brother Charlie walked behind them and with both hands, cuffed his younger brothers.

Harry groaned, he knew what was coming.

**Harry was used to spiders, because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.**

Once again, the same thick silence covered the school. Harry looked through his fingers at the Head table. Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey were hugging each other crying silently. Madam Hooch and Professor Vector looked as if they were about to be violently ill, and Professor Flitwick was fingering his wand viciously. Harry however didn't take much notice of them but focused on five other teachers.

Snape was snarling at the book that was now laying on the table. Professor McGonagall had turned as white as a ghost and had a hand covering her mouth. Hagrid was grasping the armrests of his chair, that is until he snapped them off. Dumbledore's mouth was hanging open and stared at Harry in shock and horror, his tense face matched the color of his beard. Umbridge was the only person in the entire room that was shaking with silent laughter.

Harry then looked around at his surrogate family and friends. Every Weasely, including Percy who had come down to where his family was, deciding that family was more important than a Ministry who didn't care for the well-being of a child, were muttering darkly. Then they turned to him.

"Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you come to us?" said Bill quickly

"You had a room when we came to get you! What happened to change that?" yelled Fred.

"How long did you have to sleep in there?" shouted George.

"A _cupboard_?" screamed Mrs. Weasely.

Harry didn't know what to say. He remained silent. The silence fell over all of them again, waiting for an answer. Umbridge started laughing out loud, people threw her quite a few murderous looks.

"May I ask what you find so funny Delores?" said Kingsley, calmness gone from his voice.

"I was under the impression that Muggles were common and not worth even an ounce of our time. Now I have finally found some that I actually admire. I applaud them, they seem know how to treat a worthless brat. They were even kind to the boy, I wouldn't have even let him sleep in the house." she smiled to all who were in the room.

When she received no smiles back, but only glares and snarls, she looked towards the Minister, who looked back with eyebrows raised and mouth opened in shock. She simply shrugged and leaned back in her chair majestically.

The dog that was sitting beside Harry took this opportunity to rush up to her and bite her on the leg. She let out a scream and kicked the dog away from herself, she looked down, there was a gash, not very deep, but it was bleeding moderately. She sent a curse after the dog, but he skillfully dodged it and ran back to stand in front of Harry. Guarding him and growling fiercely, showing all of its white, sharp teeth.

"MR. POTTER! HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME WITH YOUR FILTHY ANIMAL!" screeched Umbridge, without a moment's hesitation, she whipped out her wand and sent a red shaft of light down to Harry. Everyone was frozen in shock, no one could whip out their wands, not even Dumbledore in time to stop the curse. However when it reached about a foot away from Harry, it bounced off, flying straight up into the air. Lupin looked down at the young boy, his wand halfway out of his pocket. Harry had already drawn his wand and casted a protective shield around himself and Sirius, Moody was highly impressed with this, the boy even beat him in whipping out his wand. That was it, that boy was going to be an Auror, if he had anything to say about it.

He sat there, just as calmly as can be. She screamed again and brought her wand up again to send another spell down his way, but with small flick of his wand, Harry sent hers flying out of her hand and sideways towards Kingsley. Kingsley caught it and pocketed it. Umbridge threw a dirty look his way, but the Minister stood up.

"Delores, I think you better calm down. You're not acting yourself." said Fudge soothingly.

"She's acting exactly like herself. She's a psychotic nut!" yelled both Fred and George. Raising their scarred hands.

Madam Hooch trying to diffuse the situation and blowing her nose at the same time, tried to continue on with the reading.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all of Dudley's birthday presents.**

"Holy Holyhead Harpies! That's a lot of presents! How many people actually_like _this kid, Harry?" asked Charlie with his mouth hanging open.

"Five are from his friends, twelve are from Aunt Marge and nineteen are from Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia." said Harry without hesitation.

"How do you remember that, Potter?" said Snape coldly.

"Dudley always brags how many presents he gets for his birthday. All day, every day, for two weeks straight. That year, he didn't brag about the presents, except right after he got them. It was an unusual spring, so I remember it very well." said Harry with a small smile.

**It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike. Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise - unless of course it involved punching somebody.**

"If I find out that he's hit you, even once, I'm going to make sure I introduce him to a few, fifty feet tall, scaley friends of mine." said Charlie with a low growl.

"Then I'll take some time out of my busy schedule and have a little hand to rear 'talk'." muttered Lupin.

**Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry,**

"Wait'll we get a hold of that little brat." said Lupin and Charlie together.

**but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.**

"We can barely catch up with you when you're goin' somewhere in a hurry." said Ron and Hermione. Harry laughed.

"Yeah, I know seven other people who had a hard time keeping up too." said Harry with a smile.

"What do you mean." said Ron with raised eyebrows.

"I'm Britain's Junior Track Champ, I've won it every year I've entered. I've set several Junior National records for running." Harry said proudly.

"Where are your medals? Your cups? Can we see them." said Hermione excitedly. Harry's smile fell off slowly.

"Uncle Vernon keeps pile-driving them to the ground. Every time I win something, and I get a commendation, he breaks it." he ignored the snarls that went around the Hall. "I saved one however, had to dig for it out of the garbage and glue it back together, but I still have it on me." He reached deep into his cloak and pulled out a golden medal. Hermione and Ron saw a delicate picture of a man running with wings on his feet. It was cracked all the way through in several places. It even had the Queen's seal on the back, with Harry's name etched on the bottom and the year. It was his latest victory. "I'll tell you all about it later." he said to Ron and Hermione.

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age.**

"It doesn't have anything to do with living in a cupboard, Potter! But it really doesn't help!" said Madam Pomfrey fearfully.

"She's right Potter," squeaked Professor Flitwick. "Your Father and Mother were of average height, but we will have to do some magical diagnostics to find out just how tall you are supposed to be and rectify it. We can do that soon." Harry smiled.

**He looked even smaller and skinnier then he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was.**

"They didn't even give you your own clothes? Is your cousin really that big? Were the shirts shrunk to fit you?" asked Madam Bones Harry blinked and shook his head. He then took off his cloak, then uniform shirt. Underneath was a casual t-shirt. He stretched it out to show how large it really was.

"Dudley wore this about nine years ago." said Harry plainly. Mrs. Weasely turned a deep red after she uttered a curse that made Harry and the Weasely family stare at her.

**Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes.**

People who knew the Potters sighed and smiled at him. So did quite a number of girls in the school. His eyes were so lovely, but like Ginny, most of them couldn't look at him for long or they would start to blush.

**He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose.**

"That boy, if he was here now." said Mr. Weasley with a grumble.

**The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning.**

"SEE! I WAS RIGHT! HE IS ATTENTION SEEKING!" yelled Fudge to all who would hear.

"OH, WILL YOU SHUT UP!" yelled quite a few students, including Madame Bones herself.

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.**

**"In the car crash when your parent's died," she had said.**

Again the room went silent. Lupin looked to Harry, who was just sitting there, unconcerned. Lupin on the other hand, had his mouth open and his eyes were watery.

"That is what you thought happened to your parents? For over ten years?" Harry nodded.

"A CAR CRASH?" That scream came from in the back of the Hall, but no one could seem to locate it. Only Harry and Lupin knew who screamed it, for then Snuffles came trotting back to them, climbed into the bowl and laid down on Harry's lap, whining.

**"And don't ask questions."**

_**Don't ask questions -**_** that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

"Is this the reasons you don't ask questions in class Mr. Potter?" Harry looked away from the Herbology Professor and nodded. The teachers, excluding Umbridge looked horrified.

_Good, these Muggles have the right idea. I wouldn't want the little beast to talk to me anymore then he absolutely has to. And even then it's too much._thought Madame Umbridge.

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon.**

**"Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**

Hermione let out a very, very rude phrase, that caused her to have her hand fly to her mouth in shock. Ron and Harry just sat in wonder of her. Then they looked at each other.

"We ruined her." they gulped. The students and even some of the teachers laughed.

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way - all over the place.**

"Your dad's hair stuck up in the same way, even your grandfather's hair was identical." said Lupin, running his hand over the trademarked Potter hair.

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother.**

"Hey Potter, can't your cousin find the kitchen without help?" said Malfoy with a smirk. Harry thought for a moment.

"I really don't think so." with a mock frown on his lips. The twins took a break from sitting at the house table to roll on the floor laughing.

**Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head.**

"Doesn't he sound like a heartthrob?" said Lavender, Pavarti, and Padma giggling.

**Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel - Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

"YOU ARE FREAKING AWESOME!" yelled Fred and George getting up hugging Harry. However it was way too tight of a hug and he could hardly contain a yelp of pain. It went unnoticed by the rest of the school except the people that were sitting close by. Fred and George immediately released him and Lupin conjured up another cushion, to ease some of the pain. Lupin looked up to Madame Pomfrey and that was the 'magic' signal to summon her to him. She lifted the back of his shirt and administered some more healing salve. Whatever was on the object that caused the poor boy such extensive injuries, was not allowing him to heal quickly.

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell.**

**"Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**

"Are you freaking kidding me? What a spoiled brat!" said Draco, he then looked at the stunned looks gazing at him. "What?" Nobody answered him.

**"Darling, you haven't counted Aunt Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mommy and Daddy."**

**"All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face. Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over.**

"What would happen if he had overturned the table Harry." said Mrs. Weasely. Harry cringed.

"I would need to make the Dursley's more food, and I would have to eat the stuff on the floor. Then spend the rest of the morning cleaning the floor." said Harry shrugging his shoulders.

"YOU AREN'T AN ANIMAL! NOBODY SHOULD EAT OFF THE FLOOR LIKE THAT!" screeched Mrs. Weasely.

He merely shrugged again. "It was either that or nothing, I went ten years without having any dignity."

Teacher, guests and students alike all paled. Umbridge smirked from where she was sitting.

**Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, "And we'll buy you another two presents. Is that all right?"**

**Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he slowly, "So I'll have thirty...thirty..."**

**"Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

**"Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then."**

"Can't your cousin count?" asked a Ravenclaw with wide eyes.

"Actually, no. He can't read either. He's dyslexic, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't want him to be made fun of at school for going to special classes. I wanted so bad to tell them they were idiots, the classes would help him, not hurt him. They never listen. So they do his homework for him. I should say, they make me do it. He's getting better though. He now can count up to a hundred and is starting to read some small second year primary books." said Harry seriously. No joking manner in his eyes.

**Uncle Vernon chuckled.**

**"Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair.**

"Nothing good will come of that boy. Or that family." mumbled Dumbledore. His eyes were lacking that twinkling luster, until he looked at Harry. Then his eyes grew bright again. He was so proud of Harry, coming through all of this just as innocent and pure as the day he was placed on their doorstep.

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried.**

"Here comes the famous Harry Potter luck." laughed Hermione.

"Actually, I was _somewhat_ lucky that day." said Harry smiling slightly at her.

**"Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him." She jerked her head in Harry's direction.**

**Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parent's took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned.**

"What's wrong with cats Mr. Potter?" smirked McGonagall.

"My heart belonged only to 'Tootsie,' Professor." beamed Harry.

**"Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again.**

**"We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested.**

**"Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy."**

"Feeling is mutual." snarled Harry. The twins looked between themselves excitedly. That was the one who...they could hardly wait.

**The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there - or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug.**

Ron flinched, the word 'slug' still made him feel quite nauseous ever since his second year curse mishap

**"What about what's-her-name, your friend - Yvonne?"**

**"On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia.**

**"You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer).**

"Harry, they can't leave an eleven year old alone in the house." scolded Hermione.

"They wouldn't be leaving an eleven year old alone, they'd be leaving a _ten_year old." said Harry playfully. Hermione stuck her tongue out at him.

"Want a stamp for that?" teased Harry. She blushed and lightly smacked Harry on the back of his head.

**Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon.**

**"And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled.**

**"I won't blow up the house," said Harry, but they weren't listening.**

"We will!" cheered the twins. All four houses clapped. Harry couldn't believe that the Slytherins were all of a sudden, since the start of the books, were on his side.

"If I hear anymore horrible stories about the Dursley's, I'll help you." said Mrs. Weasely, earning gasps from her children.

**"I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, " ...and leave him in the car..."**

"They better not have." growled Lupin, gently pulling Harry closer to him.

**"That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone..."**

"Who gives a damn about a stupid car?" said Dean.

**Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying - it had been years since he'd really cried - but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted.**

"I call first dib's on smacking this brat upside the head!" yelled Malfoy over to the Weasely family. His dislike for Potter was being stripped away line by line thanks to this book.

"You'll have to beat us to him first!" yelled Ron.

"Dinky Diddydums"

It took the entire school fifteen minutes to stop laughing. Not even the teachers could contain their amusement at the name. What only made it worse was Umbridge speaking out loud and in a very serious tone, "I think it's a lovely nickname." It was a while till they could start again."Dinky Duddydums,"

**"don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him.**

**"I...don't...want...him...t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp...spoils everything! He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms.**

Growls could be heard all over the hall.

**Just then, the doorbell rang - "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically - and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once.**

"Prat" growled several people in the Great Hall.

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursley's car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left. Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside.**

**"I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's,**

"Get out of his face, you fat walrus!" yelled Michael Corner from the Ravenclaw table.

**"I'm warning you now, boy - any funny business, anything at all - and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas."**

_What?_ thought the people in the Hall. They were hating the Dursleys more and by the second. If anyone here was going to go to Privet Drive to beat these...things...up, they wanted to either get in on the action, or go to watch.

"That's it, Fred, George, let me know how you want the house blown up, I'll get what I need." she whispered viciously over to them. The twins looked at her in shock, but then grinned evilly. Oh the things they would do!

**"I'm not going to do anything" said Harry, "honestly..."**

**But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one did.**

This made people shift guiltily in their seats.

**The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursley's.**

**Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses. Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off. He had been given a week in his cupboard and an hour of whipping with a belt and electrical cord for this, even though he had tried to explain that he **_**couldn't**_** explain how it had grown back so quickly.**

"They...wh...whi...whipped you? Oh, Harry!" cried Hermione and she covered her eyes and began to weep bitterly. Harry wanted to reach over and comfort her, but Lupin pulled him back down and had Harry lean on him. Lupin wasn't going to let Harry move away from him. He couldn't protect him the way James and Lily would have wanted. To make up for it, Lupin was going to offer Harry all the comfort he possibly could, and he knew Sirius felt the same way.

Umbridge sniffed indignantly at the affection Potter was getting. _Filthy wolf, enjoy his company while you can. Pretty soon, Potter will be out of here, and back with the Muggles that obviously have the talent of handling the brat._

**Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls). The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished.**

The last statement reduced Mrs. Weasely to tears once more. Her husband had to rub her back slowly in an attempt to calm her down. No child should be that relieved.

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens.**

"Merlin, Harry! You apparated!" yelled Lee.

"I don't think so, from what the first book put it, I didn't spin in a circle like Dumbledore did."

"I think what happened is a very rare ability indeed. I believe that you had just flown, no broom, no thestral, no aid, but your own magic." said Dumbledore, grinning broadly.

"No way! Can one do that?" yelled a few seventh years. Dumbledore motioned Madame Hooch to continue.

**Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's , there he was sitting on the chimney. The Dursley had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school building. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trash cans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump.**

"Whoa! You did fly! AWESOME! Can you do it again?"

Harry frowned at them, stood up and tried to remember what was going through his mind at the time. He then remembered, a feeling, no, more like a desire to get out of reach, out of harm's way. Then, what sounded like quite a distance away, he heard cheering and yelling. Harry opened his eyes and was face to face with a beam on the ceiling. He slowly looked down and noticed the floor, about twenty-seven feet below him. His eyes widened and then, like a stone, he fell to the floor. About five feet from the ground, he summoned up the feeling, and he hung there in midair. Lupin took ahold of him and brought him back down to the bowl-chair.

"Don't do that again." said Lupin with a small smile. The rest of the school laughed and cheered.

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room.**

**While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He like to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects.**

"I'll give him something to complain about." snarled Bill.

**This morning, it was motorcycles.**

Again, Sirius barked and wagged his tail.

**"...roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums, " he said, as a motorcycle overtook them.**

**"I had a dream about a motorcycle, " said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying."**

"Potter, you should have waited for the ride to end before bringing up the subject of imagination." sneered Snape.

"I always sort of daydream when I'm in a car. I get to see the whole world go by my eyes. That doesn't happen very often when you're stuck under the stairs." with a dreamy look on his face that would have done Luna proud. Snape flinched at the reminder of the cupboard.

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!"**

**Dudley and Piers sniggered.**

"Laugh it up, losers." mumbled Charlie. Listening to this book and watching his mother just barely endure was harsh. Harry came to their house plenty of times, he was family, and if he had anything to say about it, he was going make these Dursleys pay.

**"I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream."**

**But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon - they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas.**

"Hermione, I forbid you to tell the twins anything about cartoons." said Mrs. Weasely quickly as she noticed the excited spark in their eyes.

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop.**

"Overstuffed cheapskate." growled Bill.

**It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratched its head who looked remarkably liked Dudley, except that it wasn't blonde.**

A cascade of laughter and cheers rang through the school.

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him.**

The laughter quickly died and was replaced by growls.

"They wouldn't hit you in front of your uncle and aunt, would they?" asked Ginny, shock washing over her face.

"They've done it before, Uncle Vernon even joined in once."

Tonks and Moody were whispering darkly in the corner, as Madame Bones was busy writing down charges of abuse against the Muggles. Rita Skeeter, her quill malfunctioning due to the magical pressure of the books, was trying to come up with flowery words on her own. She looked down at what she had written, and tossed it. Without her Quick-Quote Quill she couldn't write in the same manner as she was used to. Finally she gave up the endeavor.

**They ate in the zoo restaurant , and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.**

"What the heck is a knickerbocker glory? asked Malfoy, many purebloods also looked a little curious. Hermione was about to answer, but Harry beat her to it.

"It's an ice cream sundae, it's in a tall glass or clear bowl and it's got gelatin, and cream layered underneath the ice cream. On top, you put different kinds of syrups, nuts and whipped cream. And finally you put a cherry on top."

"And they let you have one of those?" said Draco with his blonde eyebrows raised. Harry laughed.

"Dudley left me the last few spoonfuls of gelatin and cream."

"So he ate two of them? How big was it?" Harry showed with his hands. Crabbe and Goyle both blinked, not even the both of them could eat two of those things.

"After this chapter is done, I can go down to the kitchens and make everybody one, smaller version then what Dudley had though." Everyone brightened up at that, they were always up for something special for a treat.

**Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

"Gee, mate, you never catch a break do you?"

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons.**

"I would be more than happy to show them to them, if given the opportunity." mused Snape sitting with his fingertips drumming themselves against each other.

**Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can - but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep.**

"That's right, ignore them, they aint worth your time." yelled Charlie, an avid animal lover. Hagrid nodded approvingly.

**Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils.**

"Bet he looked attractive on the other side of the glass." snickered Lavender.

**"Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't.**

**"Do it again," Dudley ordered.**

"Did that boy just _order_ his father to do something? If he was here right now, he'd go over my knee right now!" said Mrs. Weasely.

"Mrs. Weasely, he's so big that you would need to magic him in the air and just smack him with a broom." said Harry.

**Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on.**

**"This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away.**

"Gee, so sorry that, maybe we should have talk to the zookeeper and advise him to teach the animals some tricks." said Charlie sarcastically. He wasn't happy in any sense by the way the Dursley kid was acting.

**Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have surprised if it had died of boredom itself - no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house.**

"I didn't need to hear that you feel pity for a snake." said Lupin sadly

"Why?" asked Harry

"You have had harder life then that snake ever will."

"Yeah, Harry." said Neville, "It was most likely looking at you thinking _at least I get meals_"

**The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's.**

_**It winked**_

"How can a snake wink? They don't have eyelids. You probably just incorporated the feeling with an action you understood." said Hermione logically.

Dumbledore smiled down to her, "Actually Miss Granger, when an animal comes into contact with a wizard/witch that can comprehend it. That wizard/witch's magic will grant the animal special abilities that they normally never have. And once the wizard or witch is gone, they lose the ability."

Hermione looked shocked. Harry chuckled.

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

"Of course you would," said Ron, shaking his head. Harry only shrugged.

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly:**

_**"I get that all the time."**_

**"I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. "It must be really annoying."**

**The snake nodded vigorously.**

**"Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked.**

**The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it.**

**Boa Constrictor, Brazil.**

**"Was it nice there?"**

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. "Oh, I see - so you've never been to Brazil?"**

"Harry..." said Lupin.

"Did I fail to mention to you that I was a parselmouth? Oops." said Harry with wicked grin.

Lupin laughed "Don't smile like that, it scares me. You look like your dad plotting another prank." Harry laughed.

**As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. "DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T **_**BELIEVE**_** WHAT IT'S DOING!"**

**Dudley came waddling towards them as fast as he could.**

"A Shooting Star broomstick would have been faster." smirked Harry. The Quidditch players and enthusiasts all laughed.

**"Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs, breaking at least two.**

"OI!" yelled Ron and Hermione.

Mrs. Weasely and Madame Pomfrey hurried to where the teen was, pulled Harry to a standing position and lifted his shirt. The entire school watched as they both took off Harry's shirt and they gasped. Harry was very, very skinny and his wounds from the mysterious attack were still wrapped up tightly. He had some muscle tone, but only on his chest and stomach. Madame Pomfrey felt his ribs to see if there was any breakage, and her face fell.

She couldn't believe she didn't notice it before, she could feel old breaks that hadn't healed properly and more recent ones that were still in the middle of the self-healing process.

"Potter, where did you get these muscles from? This is the only actual meat on your bones that you have." asked Madame Pomfrey, after healing the old and new breaks.

Harry blushed. "It's the only way I can keep weight on me. Everything else doesn't stay."

Girls all over the school pouted, they half-heartedly wanted his metabolism. Then they wouldn't have to try so hard to lose weight.

**Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened - one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had lept back with howls of horror.**

"Whatever it is Harry, get out of there!" yelled Lupin. Harry sat back down in the bowl and looked at his old Defense Professor curiously.

**Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.**

"Impressive Mr. Potter, no sound, no breaking. Just vanished very good." said Dumbledore nodding approvingly.

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits.**

**As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, "Brazil, here I come...Thanksss, amigo."**

"I can't believe it..."said Fred in in false shock.

"...a polite snake." said George in a similar attitude.

**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock.**

**"But the glass, he kept saying, "where did the glass go?"**

"It went bye-bye." said Ginny with a smirk.

**The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death.**

"Liars, snake wasn't even near you."

**But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?"**

"Why the heck did you bring that up, you jerk?"

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go-cupboard-stay-no meals-deal-with you-in a moment," before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy.**

"Drunkard." growled Madam Pomfrey angrily.

**Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, feeling stiff and finished putting the last Band-Aid he had on his temple, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food and an ice pack for his bruises and bumps.**

People acrossed the Hall actually started to yell even louder than any other time before. Harry looked at Lupin and then over to Dumbledore and McGonagall. All three of them were pale and their hands were tensed.

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years,**

Dumbledore covered his face in his hands, tears coming down._ What have I done?_

**as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash.**

THERE WAS NO CRASH! yelled both McGonagall and Lupin. Sirius growled and bared her teeth.

**He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead.**

"How can he remember that?" asked Madame Hooch, worriedly.

**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house.**

"Dear God." Everyone looked around, it came from Fudge, his face pale and tears pricking his eyes. _'Bout damn time, moron_ thought Harry, Hermione, the Weaselys and the rest of the Order.

**When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursley were his only family.**

Lupin and Sirius both looked down, guiltily.

**Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look.**

Dumbledore looked up quickly, "_How could random people find him?" _then his eyes widened in shock._ "The Blood Wards weren't working! But why?"_

Then he thought a little more carefully. "_Of course, it was because Harry never considered it his home."_

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"I'll disagree with them! Let me at 'em" yelled several students and were joined in angry protest against the cousin of The Boy Who Lived. Harry stood up and sent a rainbow of sparks over the students. They stopped and turned quickly towards them.

"If you lot calm down, I'll go and make you all some knickerbocker glories." he said with a big smile. The entire student body yelled and cheered. He took a quick headcount left. Lupin and Sirius wanted to go with him, but Harry assured to them that he was fine. He worked better alone.

"Dumbledore, he isn't going back to those monsters, ever." said Mr. Weasely sternly.

"Absolutely not," said Lupin.

"I couldn't agree more, I have a lot of making up to do, especially to Harry." said Dumbledore quietly.

When Madame Hooch turned the page to read the title of the next chapter, a clear, glowing scroll blossomed out of the book and the book itself sealed shut.

"What is that thing Albus?" said Moody quickly, wand aimed at it.

"It's a Recollection Scroll, they show us a part of Harry's history that the story can't put into words. It can either be a glorious memory, or a horrible memory. If we wish to continue on with the book, we must watch it." said Dumbledore with a puzzled look.

"Should we wait till Harry gets back?" asked George.

The scroll unfurled itself and blackness enveloped the entire room.

"I take that as a 'no'"


	5. Chapter 5

Warning! Severe abuse is in this chapter, if you don't wish to read it, wait to read the next chapter. This a very strong T rating, borderlining M it's bad. This isn't a reading chapter, chapter.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

The entire Hall was transported to what looked liked a primary school gym, however, the tables were gone and they were all standing, not knowing what to do. Then all of a sudden, thirty little kids ran into the huge room and began running around, picking up basketballs and jump ropes to pass the time. They then saw a cluster of boys come in, there were five of them and one of them was the fattest little kid they had ever seen.

"This is boring, eh Dudley?" said one of the boys that looked like a small rat.

"Yeah Piers, where is Potter, he should be fun to play with." said Dudley looking around.

Then a small, thin boy with bright green eyes. He wasn't wearing glasses, but they could just make out the thin scar on his forehead.

"Holy cow!" yelled Ron looking down.

"What is it? Harry just came in!" said Hermion stamping her foot.

"One of those midgets just.."

"HARRY" yelled Lupin rushing forward.

Everyone turned and saw Dudley and his friends punching and kicking him right in front of the door. Piers was holding Harry's arms back from behind and laughed as each blow struck the boy. Lupin ran as fast as he could, but he was beaten by Sirius Black, who was no longer in his canine form. Sirius lunged for the abusers, but sailed _through_ them. He caught himself quickly and looked behind himself, stunned. He tried to clutch at Harry, but his hands fell only on air. Harry was crying out in pain, and his godfather could do nothing.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" yelled Umbridge, she whipped her wand out and pointed it towards Black. Nothing happened, no sparks, no smoke. Umbridge looked at her wand in shock.

"Magic is usless here. We are back in the folds of time, mearly an audience for these past events. There is no going back, we must watch the past unfold. Then we may return." said Dumbledore with intense grief ripping through his throat. He could not take his heartbroken eyes from the small black haired lad. Hagrid was rooted on the spot, shocked to his very heart, that piglet was hurting Harry, HIS Harry.

"Explains how that one kid just walked right through me." said Ron looking at his middle.

"Why didn't you mention that?" screamed Hermione.

"I was about to, then those brats started hitting Harry."

"When we get back to the school, we shall adminster Veritiserum to show you the truth, Minister." said Dumbledore, pushing the Minister's wand down, which was pointed at the man kneeling and weeping. "I would normally wait until the third book and let you figure it out for yourself, but the dog is out of the bag." said Dumbledore, a shadow of a smile flashed acrossed his face. But disappeared just as quickly as he watched Harry get hit very hard in the face.

"Teacher's coming!" yelled a member of Dudley's gang. They broke apart quickly and shoved Harry away from them.

"Cowards!" yelled a few Gryffindors.

A cross looking woman came stomping in and noticed Harry running towards the bathroom. Holding a bloody nose.

"Clumsy fool fell again, did he?" she said with disdain.

"Stupid woman, he was attacked!"

The room then rushed forward and they saw Harry, taking a wet paper towel to his nose and holding his head back. Madame Pomfrey rushed to his side.

"That's it dear, now then..." Flitwick had to come pat her arm, shaking his head. The boy couldn't hear them. They watched as Harry washed away the blood from his face and hands. He looked up at the mirror. The watchers could see themselves in the mirror, but the boy couldn't see them. They noticed that Harry had a broken nose, Harry also took notice of this.

He sighed, placed two thumbs up to the bridge of his nose, and forced it to straighten with a sickening crack.

"JEEZE! DOESN'T HARRY FEEL ANY PAIN?" howled a seventh year Hufflepuff cringing and shaking his head furiously. Harry looked to make sure it was straight, as if he had to do this before. When he was presentable enough, he left to go back to the gym.

They followed the young boy and saw everyone were lining up for a football game. Harry had to wait until the very end to be picked. The kid that chose him gave Dudley a quick glance and pointed towards the young boy. Harry came over and joined his team.

The Watchers, as one first year had dubbed them, sat on the side of the gym and cheered on Harry, who seemed to be the best one on the floor. They couldn't understand why Harry was chosen last, when he was the only one who could actually kick the ball straight. Dean was bombarded with questions on what the rules were and how the game was played. Harry was the only person on his team that managed to score a single goal, he even tried to let other's take a shot, but they kept kicking it back to him. What was amazing was that, there was no magic involved, this was Harry's own talent and he was good. Sirius and Remus couldn't look any prouder.

When the warning bell went off, the teacher grabbed the ball and told them to get ready for next class and left to put the ball away. Dudley waddled up to Harry and shoved him hard.

"What the..WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" yelled Fred and George at Dudley.

Harry fell to the ground hard and threw a hand up to stop Dudley from hitting him. The Watchers stared in amazement when they saw Dudley fly through the air and land on a inflatable bouncy mat. Harry sat in shock.

"Serves him right! That's teaching that fat git!"

The room, once again zoomed ahead and they were now standing in a living room. They noticed that the room had elongated itself to fit all the people in it.

"This zooming forward is starting to make me feel sick." squeaked Neville.

"If your going to get sick, be sure to do it in that brown chair. Its sagging, looks like a walrus would sit in it." said Sirius pointing to the chair in the corner, by the television. Neville went and obliged, to the silent cheers of the others. After watching Neville, some had to go and let loose as well.

Then a man entered the living room.

"Petunia, I'm home." he said placing his coat on the hook by the mantle. "Why did you want me to come home early?"

Petunia came in with a sobbing Dudley who was obviously faking it. She herself was tense and pale.

"Go tell your daddy what your nasty cousin did, Dudderdums." Dudley went over to his father who took him on his knee, sitting right where Neville and several others got sick. They all couldn't help but laugh.

"H-he th-th-threw m-me in th-the a-a-a-air! I w-was s-s-scared!" Dudley pretended to bawl.

"It'll be okay Dudley, your daddy will sort him out. Where is he?" growled Vernon.

"In his cupboard. I already smacked him with your belt a few times." she said with disgust.

"HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" yelled Draco, he couldn't understand it, what is wrong with these muggles?

"A few more lashes should make him pay for hurting my son. You go and take Dudley to that new movie. I'll sort that _creature_ out." Petunia gathered her purse and coat and took Dudley's hand.

"CREATURE? I'LL CREATURE YOU!" said Lupin, took a step forward, Snape grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Snape whispered into his ear. "_Don't bother, you'll only tire yourself out_"

After they left, Uncle Vernon turned on the radio and tv, cranking the volume. Then he went around the house and pulled down the blinds and drew the curtains. Then he grabbed several things and placed them in the living room. Once he was done, he went to the cupboard and pulled Harry out by his hair. Sirius tried to punch, kick and strangle the man, but he was unsuccesful.

The scroll, taking pity on them, instead of the boy, made the world go black, then it was restored. It was no longer afternoon, but evening. Harry was laying on the ground, bleeding from head to foot. Uncle Vernon was wiping the blood from his hands. The teachers looked down at Harry and they saw beside the small, uncouncious boy, a blood-stained poker, and a dent in the boy's head that matched it.

"NO! OH GOD, NO! HE DIDN'T, HE COULDN'T!" screamed Dumbledore. He flung himself to the floor, beside the unconcious boy, trying to claw at him and revive him. Moody had to pick Dumbledore off the floor and started to shake him.

"DON'T DO THIS! GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF! THIS HARRY IS BEYOND HELP! WE CAN DO NOTHING! BUT THERE IS STILL A HARRY POTTER BACK HOME THAT NEEDS US, NEEDS YOU! HE'S BEEN DAMAGED! BUT YOU CAN FIX HIM! YOU CAN HELP HIM HEAL! BUT NOT IF YOUR IN ST. MUNGOS!" bellowed Moody. Dumbledore breathed quickly and nodded. He covered his face in his hands. Snape was staring down at the bleeding boy. He started rocking forward and had to push his way through the wall of students. He went over to corner and became violently sick.

Uncle Vernon then turned down both the radio and television and started flinging his own possessions around the house. Once he was satisfied with the look, he left the house. He didn't even bother locking the door and zoomed off into the distance. Harry just laid there, bleeding, it was a half and hour till Harry so much as stirred. The Watchers cringed and howled with agony as they watched Harry crawling slowly on the ground.

The students nor the teachers could watch anymore, they cried, screamed and tried to pick Harry up. Only Umbridge sat and watched the events with a small smile, _the brat is getting what he deserves, bravo, sir._ McGonagall saw the smile and punched her square on the jaw, knocking the woman unconcious. Some students cried and covered their eyes, not looking at what had just transpired between the High Inquisitor and the Deputy Headmistress.

In twenty minutes he reached the sidetable and pulled on the cord to the telephone. It landed and flopped the phone off the reciever. Harry placed his bloody forefinger on the numbers and pressed a nine and two, ones. The phone rang, and then a lady could be heard on the other end.

"Nine-Nine-Nine, do you need Fire, Medical, or Rescue?"

Harry reached for the phone and dragged it closer to himself, brought his head up, as high as he could and tried to yell as loud as he could, but it only gained the strength of a whisper.

"..help.." then his head fell to the floor with a thunk, passing out from the loss of blood.

"okay, honey, where are you at? Honey? Just stay on the phone, sweetheart, we'll find you. Stay on the phone, it'll be okay"

For an agonizing fifteen minutes, the Watchers could only stand, scream and vow to everything holy that Mr. Dursley was going to feel just what he put Harry through. Then they heard a siren blaring through the neighborhood. They heard two sharp knocks on the door, but then the door was flung open. They hurried to the living room, and stared in shock for a few seconds. They knelt beside the boy and yelled out to the others outside.

"HE'S IN HERE! GET THAT DAMN AMBULANCE IN HERE NOW! It's okay bud, we'll get you some help. Where the hell is this kid's parents?" said the younger police officer.

The older partner shook his head, "does he even belong here? There aint a picture of him anywhere in here," he said looking around. "just pictures of a fat, blonde beachball."

The ambulance medics, who were seasoned professionals and had seen horrible accidents and other unspeakble acts of destruction, flinched when they saw Harry. They covered covered him with gauze patches and placed him tenderly on the stretcher. Just then a loud voice came from outside.

"WHAT THE RUDDY HELL IS GOING ON!"

Uncle Vernon came stomping in, he looked down at Harry and flicked his eyes towards the phone that was laying on the floor. A split second later, he broke down crying, covering Harry with his body.

"GET HIM AWAY FROM HARRY! HE'S THE BASTARD THAT HURT HIM!" yelled Bill.

"What happened, tell your Unkie Vern what happened!" he pretended to bawl. Harry was not responding and the cops had to remove Vernon from the boy so they could take Harry to the hospital. Vernon wiped away the crocodile tears and looked around the house,

"Looks like someone, came in and destroyed my house, oh god! Those home invaders in town! They came here! Harry must've...startled them.."

"YOU KNOW PERFECTLY WELL WHO HURT HIM!" bellowed Fudge, forgetting that he was trying to discredit the boy. This was not the time, nor the place.

"Door wasn't forced, sir."

Uncle Vernon shook his head quickly, "I left the house unlocked, Harry was playing in the backyard and Petunia lost her spare key. I left it unlocked for them! Oh...ITS ALL MY FAULT!"

"YOU BETTER DAMN WELL BELIEVE IT YOU %^#$*^" shouted Charlie.

The younger police officer patted the large man's back sympathetically, the older police officer looked at him warily.

"Smart muggle that." said Moody, directing his words towards the older officer and holding Albus back.

They asked him if he wanted to ride with Harry, but Vernon said he would wait for his wife and son and go see his nephew together. The police officers left and saw two detectives approach the house.

"What happened."

"Seems like the house was trashed by the home invaders running loose." said the younger poilce officer.

"Then we may as well just start the paperwork, those guys wear gloves, and in all forty-seven break-ins they never left so much as a piece of fuzz behind. How bad was the kid hurt?"

"I don't think the kid is going to live to see the morning." said the older officer quietly. A thick silence blanketed the four of them and also The Watchers. "Also, I don't think the invaders did this." he said a little louder.

"What makes you think that?"

"That man, he looked from his nephew to the phone in disbelief. Like he didn't think the kid could do that."

"That's not uncommon, most kids don't know how to use the phone."

"This kid was six, right when you get to first grade, you learn 9-9-9." he growled. "My gut tells me that the uncle beat that kid."

"VERY smart Muggle that, he'd make a great Auror." nodded Moody.

"Courts need more then just a gut feeling."

"I know, we'll go and see if the kid can talk."

Again, the world zoomed forward and they watched in horror as Harry was rushed from the ambulance to the emergency room. They couldn't bring themselves to go in there and sit with him. They all stood, leaned against the wall and sat in the chairs in the hall. Umbridge was still laying on the ground and nobody was really paying her any notice.

They watched as the four police officers came and sat down in the waiting room. It was several hours later till a man dressed all in plain, funny-looking, loose fitting clothes came out to them.

"How is he?" said the older officer.

The doctor sighed, "Little guy is just barely hanging on, he's just too small, too fragile. What happened to this kid, looks like he picked a fight with an entire herd of bulls."

The Watchers were silent, they hung their heads, forgetting that Harry was waiting for them back at the school.

"The uncle says the home invaders, I think it was him." the doctor took a step back in shock.

"If it was the uncle, the man is a monster."

"Got that right." said Tonks her hair turning red.

"Is he going to be alright?" said one of the detectives. The doctor shook his head.

"Only thing I can do is make his passing easier. I can make it so he won't feel anymore pain. Where is his family?" said the doctor looking around.

"We didn't know him yet, if we did, we would have been there." muttered Ron.

The older officer looked down the way and tilted his head down to the other end. Petunia, Vernon and Dudley were coming down the hall, calmly.

"Well," said Vernon gruffly.

"Try and act like you give a damn, why don't you?" said Madame Pomfrey angrily

The cops and the doctor stared at them in shock. The doctor cleared his throat and stated what he had told the police.

"He's in the Instensive Care Unit, he won't last the night."

"Can we go over your house looking for fingerprints? That way we can catch the men that did this to your nephew." he said, he wanted to judge their reactions.

A glint came to Uncle Vernon's eyes, "I'm sorry, my wife cleaned our whole house, its a habit she has."

The Watchers stared in shock, even in the wizarding world, fingerprints were important to Aurors, and this lady wiped all the evidence away.

"You know, we needed that evidence to bring the monster's to court right?"

"Oh he knew." snarled Snape.

"Sorry" said Vernon smugly.

"Are not." growled Bill.

The doctor then showed the Durlsey's where Harry was, they didn't insist, but the older officer did. Even the watchers followed them down the hall.

Harry was hooked up to several different machines, his heartbeat being monitored on a screen, his breathing was slow and it seemed as if it hurt him greatly to take a breath. His eyes were closed and despite a bruised and pale face, he looked peaceful. The Watcher's couldn't hold in the tears any longer and they bawled. The Dursleys were not similar to them in any way, they only had indifference in their eyes. Despite the noises going on around them and the sobbing sounds they themselves were making, Sirius and Remus heard the doctor and the police talking in hushed tones.

"They destroyed the evidence, what are we going to do now?I want those bastards in jail."

"As do the rest of us, but what can we do? The poor boy can't finger him when he's in heaven, and all we have is a gut feeling. The D.A would just laugh us out of the station."

Then, Harry's eyes snapped open and he started to cough and wheeze. The doctor rushed forward, frantically getting him to calm down and breathe normal. He slipped a oxygen mask over his face and the boy took a few gulps of air and settled back into the pillows. His eyes eyes looked dull and his entire looked even more frail than what seemed like hours ago.

"Its okay son, you're in the hospital. Don't you worry." He upped the dosage of morphine just a little bit and watched as the boy fell back to sleep.

The older cop looked up at the ceiling and said quite seriously "I haven't done this in a while but," he placed two finger on his forehead, then his chest, left shoulder and finally his right shoulder. He muttered a prayer quietly and made the same motions as before.

"I don't believe this, this kid's heartbeat and breathing is getting better! He's going to be just fine!" The Watchers jumped up and down in excitement, the students anyway, the teachers were hugging themselves and crying. Even Snape and McGonagall were holding each other, laughing. Sirius and Remus were doing a jig where they stood.

The older officer looked up and mouthed "_Thank You_" to the ceiling. "Can you wake him up quickly, I know the poor thing just fell asleep, but I want to ask.." he jerked his head in the direction of the Dursleys and scowled.

The doctor thought about it and nodded. He adjusted the machines and gave Harry a little shake.

"This man wants to talk to you quick, then you can go back to sleep. Alright?" Harry nodded weakly.

"Come with me Dursleys, you need to fill out some paper work." they left, not looking at the boy in the hospital bed, but Vernon had a frown on his face.

The older police officer came over to the hurt little boy with a grim look on his face.

"Lad? I've got a quick question, who hurt you?"

Harry groaned and closed his eyes. Harry though long and hard, but he could only shake his head. "I don't remember sir, I only remember coming home from school." He rubbed his bandaged head tenderly.

"I can understand why you don't remember, boy. Listen, we have an idea who did it, but unfortunately, we can't prove it. Here's my card, if you're hurt again, look me up or call. Then we can get the people who hurt you taken away. Read me?" said the cop smiling kindly.

Harry took the card, he had to hold the car quite close to his eyes to read it.

"I think you need glasses kid. Hospital will get you hooked up."

The rushing sensation came again, but this time, It felt as if they were falling.

They didn't feel themselves land, they were sitting in the same seats as before and it looked as if nothing had happened. Umbridge sat up, with a groggy look on her face. No one was talking, everyone just looked down. Harry had been through hell and back and the hell again at the end of every school year. And he never said a word.


	6. Chapter 6

Soo, this isn't a reading chapter either, but it is important. Bear with me, the next chapter will be up very soon.

It was ten minutes after they had arrived, that tables of food had appeared in front of them. However, no one felt like eating. they could only remember the vision of a fallen Harry, covered in blood, obviously dying. The hall was silent except for the sound of one person gulping down food eagerly. They, including the Minister, turned to glare at Madam Umbridge. Umbridge looked nonchalantly back, when her eyes locked on Sirius Black's she whipped out her wand. Dumbledore, still feeling the fury that had taken over him at the Dursleys, was much too quick for her, and disarmed her. Once again Kingsley took possession of her wand.

"Severus, do you have some Veritiserum about you? Let's take care of this before anything else happens. I hope Harry forgives me, we could have done this a while ago." said Dumbledore coldly.

"Why didn't you, professor?" squeaked Hermione, still red-eyed.

"I wanted to bring Peter in, before I brought Sirius. I didn't want the Minister perform the Kiss too hastily on Sirius, before his innocence was proven. Ah, thank you Severus. For Sirius's peace of mind and out of respect for Harry, is this tainted in anyway?" said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye.

"No, sir. That's the strongest vial of Veritiserum that I have on me. I wouldn't poison him, _not in front of witnesses anyway._" said Snape, muttering the last part.

"I heard that, but it is comforting to know that you have that much self-control. Now Sirius," he said Dumbledore as he waited for the man to approach the Head table. "Do you want the Veritiserum in a glass of red Chateauneuf or would you prefer Lalande de Pomerol?"

"Can't I take the potion straight?" asked Sirius.

"You can, but I thought you would like to celebrate your new freedom with a drink. That, and I thought you and I both would need a drink after what we both witnessed." said Dumbledore sadly. Sirius nodded furiously. He took the glass containing the Chateauneuf and held it out. Dumbledore poured a bit of the potion into his glass and they both lifted their glasses in a toast and drained them.

Sirius was going to have to hunt down a similar bottle of what he just had for himself. It was a beautiful taste that danced acrossed his tongue. Even the smell brought about memories of Christmas time at the Potters, spices, fruit and a hint of truffles. This was a bottle he had to find. Sirius eyes closed his eyes and felt himself fall backwards, but a chair had appeared from behind him.

"There Minister, he's ready to answer any question you have to ask." said Dumbledore, motioning towards the limp man in the chair.

"I've never seen Veritiserum do that." said Fudge suspiciously. Madame Bones groaned and sat forward.

"When you mix wine and Veritiserum together, it has an intense calming effect. No doubt...Sirius needed it...I do too after seeing that poor boy..." eyes brimming with tears. She walked to the front of the table and faced Sirius Black, head tilted on his shoulder and glass dangling precariously from his limp hand.

"What is your name?" said Madame Bones.

"Sirius Orionus Black." said Sirius clearly, though appearing to be in a deep sleep.

"Were you the Secret-Keeper to the Potters?" said Madam Bones, her voice hard.

"Yes"

"Did you relinquish that position to someone else?" interjected Dumbledore.

"Yes"

"Who was it that was the latest Secret-Keeper to the Potters?" said Madame Bones, taking control of the interrogation again. Though she didn't mind him helping out, as long as she got to the truth, she didn't give a damn who lended a hand.

"Peter Pettigrew"

A gasp went through the hall, Peter Pettigrew? The Ministry workers and some of the teachers looked shocked. That weak little boy? That nervous little man? HE was the Secret-Keeper? Why? Why would Peter betray the Potters?

"Why did you give him the position?"

"To lure Voldemort away from James and Lily, I thought that he would come after me and try and force me to give up their location."

"Did he come after you?"

"No, he didn't need to, he already had the information he needed."

"What do you mean?"

"Peter went straight to Voldemort and told him. He wasn't even Secret-Keeper two hours and he scampered to Voldemort."

"After you found out what happened, what did you do?

"I went to the house, saw James. I wanted to run, I wanted to hide somewhere and just die. I thought of Lily and Harry and hurried upstairs. I saw the whole nursery just completely buried in rubble. Hagrid came out of nowhere and helped me move the fallen beams. We found the both of them. Lily was laying there, as if she were asleep, Harry had a cut on his forehead and blood was trickling down his small face. He kept trying to nuzzle into Lily, wake her up. I went to pick him up and just held him and cried. Hagrid told me that Dumbledore wanted him, I fought with Hagrid. I wanted to keep him, raise him, protect him. Hagrid wouldn't budge an inch, I finally consented and conjured up some blankets and wrapped him in them. Let Hagrid borrow my bike and he zoomed off, I watched him leave."

"Then what happened?"

"I went after Peter, found him on a little side street. Don't remember where. I pulled my wand on him, I wanted to kill him, he took James away, he took Lily. I wanted to blast him into a million pieces. He yelled, as loud as he could, that I killed them, I betrayed them. He pointed his wand backwards and half the street exploded. I was knocked backwards but I wasn't hurt. I stood up and looked for Peter, I saw on the ground a finger and looked towards a sewer grate. There was a rat, running down into the sewer. A rat I knew so well, with a toe missing."

"How did you know the rat?"

"Peter, James and I were all animagi. I can transform into a dog, James a stag, and Peter a rat. I've seen him transform a hundred times. After I saw Peter disappear, I laughed."

"Why did you?"

"All those years, he was the weakest one of us all, he depended on us to protect him. A Gryffindor, the house known for its bravery and nobility. Its goodness, and he allianced himself with the biggest excuse for a dark wizard the world ever knew. I found it ironic in a way, that he could best me and James, the best in our year. My mind snapped, I lost my best friend, a woman I considered my sister and a little boy I viewed as my cub. I lost them all, and the love in my heart turned to hatred, and my new goal was to find Peter and kill him. Rip him apart with my own fangs. I laughed in anticipation of that day. But then I was surrounded by Ministry officials and was arrested."

The whole school was deadly silent. Dumbledore had a small smile upon his lips and he waved his wand in front of Sirius's eyes. Sirius's eyes opened and he lifted his head off his shoulder. He blinked sleepily and leaned back in the chair with a frown.

"So, you gonna chuck me in Azkaban for convenience again?" smirked Sirius.

"Not for convenience, no, but for escaping Azkaban yes. And being an unregistered Animagus. Aurors, seize him." said Umbridge with a regal gleam in her eyes, pointing to Sirius dramatically. Her smile disappeared when no Auror moved.

"I said 'seize him'!" screeched Umbridge. Fudge looked at her with an astounded look upon his face. Madame Bones turned on her heel and glared at the woman.

"I will not allow any charges to be placed against, and by the way the Minister looks, he won't either." said Madame Bones, looking to Fudge, who nodded towards the head of Magical Law Enforcement.

"Also, I believe the Ministry should make some _serious_ monetary compensation for imprisoning him without proof. As well as all of his possessions returned to him. Including, Delores, his house." said Madam Bones sternly.

"That is impossible, I am residing there now." said Umbridge, with a furious glare.

"If she's there, I don't want it, I'll set it on fire first, then rebuild it." said Sirius with frown.

"If you feel that way, she may keep the house, but pay you for it. Let's see, it's a twenty bedroom, three level house, thirty bathrooms, basement, two pools, attic, fifty balconies, library. You owe Mr. Black, Delores," she summoned a parchment and it came up with the total net worth of the ,home. "Sixty-three and a half million galleons. Do you still wish to reside there?" she said in a smug tone.

"What did she pay to live there after I got arrested?" said a stunned Sirius.

"Nothing, it was owned by the Ministry, but now that you are free and proven innocent, she must pay you to live there. As well as back rent. Well, your answer Delores?"

Umbridge muttered, "Take the damn house."

"Not too sure I want it, if she was there." shuddered Sirius.

"You can have custody of Harry quicker if you have a house all ready for him." grinned Dumbledore.

"I'll take it." stated Sirius immediately. Madame Bones smiled at him.

"We will send the compensation to your account."

The students cheered and applauded, teachers were also showing their approval of the turn of events. Everyone felt a lot better and they decided to tuck in to their dinners, which was already past the uneaten appetizer stage and onto the main course.

Sirius wasn't hungry, he was too excited to eat, he wanted to find Harry and tell him all that had happened just now. He finally got his fondest and dearest wish, Harry was going to live with him! The dinner disappeared and was preparing for the dessert. Sirius was standing by the Head table, talking to Madame Bones when the door opened and Harry came in with his cane.

"Your Knic..." his smile fell quickly off his face as he saw Sirius standing beside Madame Umbridge and a Auror he didn' t know.

Harry whipped his wand out and waved it above his head, a golden lasso appeared out of the end of it, flew towards Sirius, enveloped him. Harry pulled hard on the wand and Sirius was lifted from the ground, into the air and landed lightly behind Harry. He held out an arm, protecting his godfather and pointing his wand towards the table.

"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND? THEY'RE..." bellowed Harry, until Sirius turned him around and hugged him.

"I'm free...they found out I'm innocent." he said into the top of Harry's head. Harry pulled away, shock was frozen into his face, but the words broke through and Harry grinned ear to ear.

"Really?" he whispered, too shocked to speak any louder. Sirius nodded. "You're gonna live with me now. Dumbledore said so."

Harry started to chuckle, then giggled until finally the whole Great Hall was filled with his laughter.

"I'M GOING TO LIVE WITH YOU? HONESTLY? YOUR'RE FREE?" Sirius had to nod again, his own smile breaking through his face. Harry wanted to do a backflip, he wanted to show some real physical exertion to show how happy he was, but he knew that if he did that, he would pay dearly for it later.

Then, a hundreds of large, clear, beautiful glasses. Each glass, looked a little different than the one before, each one had thick layers of different colored and flavored syrup and cream. Topped with ice cream and whipped cream, cherry and a wafer fan behind each sundae.

"Oh yeah, I finished the Knickerbocker Glories." said Harry from the embrace that joyously held him captive. The entire school gazed admiringly at the treat in front of them.

Dumbledore looked all around the room, each sundae was different, Harry made them all by hand? That must have taken him a long time, he flicked out his watch. To his surprise, his theory was wrong. He assumed that time would stop as they left to journey through time. It didn't, it took Harry a good hour and a half to make all of these. He looked at his, instead of a cherry on top, like everyone else's his held two raspberries. His eyes opened in shock, he noticed another inconsistency. There was no wafer fan, but two raspberry, chocolate-chip cookies. Tears came to the old man's eyes.

"Harry?" his voice breaking with emotion.

"Yes sir," said Harry, who was sitting in the bowl again with Sirius and Remus, eating his own Glory.

"You...you're...you're the one who sent me those...cookies?" said Dumbledore with the tears threatening to fall from his eyes. The teachers looked to him quickly, surprise on each of their faces.

Harry smiled brightly, and nodded. "I noticed that every morning, with your toast, you put raspberry jam on them. A LOT of raspberry jam. You keep talking about hot chocolate whenever Christmas comes around. So, I put two and two together and made you some cookies. I didn't know if you really liked them till you said what you did an hour or two ago. How many boxes do you want this year?"

Dumbledore said nothing, just stood up and walked down to the boy. He took Harry's sundae out of his hands, handed it Remus, helped Harry to stand and embraced him. Harry didn't know what to make of the situation, he slowly smiled and hugged the old man back.

Dumbledore couldn't believe it, all the abuse that he and the rest of the school witnessed and Harry wasn't tainted in the slightest. He was kind, generous, thoughtful, industrious and supremely talented. Harry deserved much more than the hand he was dealt with. He was going to make sure, that having Harry live with Sirius was only the tip of the iceberg. He had a lot more making up to do.

"Your sundae is melting, Albus." said Professor Flitwick, whipped cream on the fringes of his mustache. "You aren't going to want to miss it." Dumbledore and Harry broke apart and he helped Harry back to the bowl. Giving him one more smile he strode up to the Head table.

"How is it?" he whispered to Madame Pomfrey as he passed.

"It's divine, nothing like I've ever tasted. I've had these before, but this is by far the best I've ever had."

Dumbledore eagerly went back to his sundae, as he did, he noticed the only unhappy face at the table and it wasn't Severus's. His was filled with a sort of faint happiness, as if he were recollecting a wonderful memory, but was too cautious to let it reach his heart. The unhappy face belonged to Umbridge, she was staring at her sundae with disgust. Amazingly, Harry didn't make it any less beautiful then the rest. She pushed it away from her sat back in her chair with her arms folded. Like a spoiled child. She jerked her head up, in the direction of the youth and called over to him.

"I refuse to eat anything that looks this hideous, Mr. Potter." she sneered, but it fell apart completely when she noticed that he wasn't paying her any attention. He was too busy laughing with Fred and George and eating his own. Only Dumbledore noticed her and heard her, each student, teacher and guest were too busy enjoying their sundaes and taste testing the different syrups in each one.

She was about to throw her sundae on the floor, to get his attention when Dumbledore magicked it out of her hand. This the students took notice of, they wondered what was going on, to make the Headmaster look so grim.

"If you don't want it, I know about a hundred people including myself that would give their eye teeth for seconds. Now, who would like this?" There wasn't a hand that wasn't raised, except Hagird's he was still working on his, his sundae was the size a medium sized bucket. It took a lot of ingredients just to make it. After it was decided who should get it, Lupin won, they all sat in thought.

Then Harry muttered an "ouch", when Bill absent-mindedly patted him on the back, they were all given a harsh reminder of the scroll.

"Harry, we need to talk." said Dumbledore, looking a hundred years older.

"Yes sir?" said Harry, trying to convince Sirius and Remus that he was fine. Which was not working.

"After you went down to the kitchens, a scroll appeared. It showed us a part of your past." said Dumbledore sadly. Harry looked up in shock, everyone else, besides Umbridge who were sitting with her arms folded a scowl on her face and rubbing the bruise that had now fully formed on her jaw, looked saddened.

Harry gulped, "Which part? Was it a good one?" he asked hopefully, but that hope quickly died. Dumbledore shook his head sadly.

"You were in the hospital." Dumbledore looked into Harry's eyes, even from a distance, his eyes were the easiest thing to find in this giant room. "You were perilously injured, by your villainous uncle...Oh Harry, don't tell me I have to elaborate!" moaned Dumbledore when he saw Harry's puzzled look. Harry quickly looked away and paled.

Dumbledore sighed, how had he let this happen? "It was the time that you accidentally caused Dudley to fly backwards in your Gym class." Harry thought hard, then his eyes got bigger.

"That was right before I had to get glasses." Hermione and Dumbledore paled.

"You didn't need glasses before?"

"No, my eyesight was 20/20. School nurse said I had the best eyesight in our class, that changed real quick." Madame Pomfrey's list of what to do was getting longer and longer. As did Madame Bone's list of charges.

"Did your Uncle Vernon ever hit you again?" whispered Ron, dreading the answer.

"Never again, that badly. Officer McFinn made Uncle Vernon nervous, he controlled himself after that." said Harry quietly.

"But he never stopped? Didn't you tell Officer McFinn about the continuation of abuse?" said Tonks with widened eyes. Harry looked down again.

"He died, a year later. He was shot in an armed robbery. His wife is kind to me though, but she lost her husband, her whole world, I didn't want to put more strain on her by telling her what was going on." said Harry sadly.

"You really should have told someone, dear." whimpered Mrs. Weasely.

"Nothing I can do about it now." said Harry firmly. The entire school looked somber. "It's all behind me now, I've got a much better life ahead of me." he said leaning against Sirius.

Sirius smiled warmly, "That's right cub, I'll take care of you." then an evil grin came to his face. "Cause you can't seem to do anything right on your own." he teased, tickling Harry gently. Harry tried, laughingly, to push his hands away. "I'd like to see YOU cook." teased Harry back. Sirius pouted. The grim feeling in the hall was instantly washed away.

"Can we get back to the books? I think we've taken a long enough break." said Umbridge with her sickeningly sweet voice. Dumbledore looked at his watch once again and shook his head.

"I fear that we will have to take a longer break, Delores. It's now nine thirty and our first years are just barely keeping their eyes awake. We should break and continue the readings tomorrow morning. I'll have the house elves fix up some rooms for our guests to sleep in. Harry, I would ask if you would rather you spend the night with your new guardian, alas, Madame Pomfrey have me pay most dearly for not giving you over to her care. Especially since..." Dumbledore couldn't continue.

"Fine Dumbledore, but I will read ahead if I may." Umbridge picked up the book and to her dismay, it would not open.

"Oh, I apologize, I should have warned you. The books can only be read from nine o'clock in the morning to nine o'clock in the evening. That way, rest is assured. We shall resume reading after breakfast."

The school emptied as they all dispersed to their respective dorms. Harry, Sirius, Remus, Ron and Hermione traveled to the Hospital Wing. Ron helped Harry change into a pair of red and gold pajamas and then helped him into the bed. Harry was exhausted and they all knew it. Sirius tucked him in and slowly brushed the bangs out of his eyes. He continued brushing his hair back until Harry's eyes finally closed, he fell into a deep sleep.

Madame Pomfrey, McGonagall, Snape, Dumbledore and Mr. and Mrs. Wesealy all came in.

"Is he asleep?"

"Yep, and I ain't letting you wake him up." said Sirius without looking at them.

"I don't plan on it Sirius, I just need to check him for injuries. Ones that weren't caused here." she muttered. She waved her wand over the sleeping form and held her hand out for the scroll that popped out the end of her wand.

She unrolled it and gasped. It was so long, and so terrible. So many injuries, and all untreated by professionals. Harry's magic had to heal each one and even then, it wasn't healed properly. Just enough to keep him from suffering, and possibly dying. She wiped tears from her eyes, and turned towards Madame Bones who had just entered the Wing with Moody, Kingsley and Tonks.

"What more have they done to the boy?" growled Moody. He was itching and raring to go and put some real fear into the Dursleys. Madame Pomfrey handed the scroll to the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, who in turned paled when she read what was written.

"I'll have the necessary paperwork drawn up, the Dursleys will be seized by Midnight." she was about to take the scroll when Dumbledore snatched it quickly and began to read it.

"Albus, you don't..." whimpered the Healer.

Dumbledore's, normally, twinkling blue eyes clouded and tears fell from his eyes. He gave a shuddered breath, handed the parchment back to Madame Bones. He slowly walked over to Harry's side, opposite of Sirius. Sat down and placed his head on the bed. He cried, like a small child, he was inconsolable. Harry had traveled so far into the realm of sleep, that he heard nothing. He merely slept on, oblivious to the broken hearts that stood around him.


	7. Chapter 7

They helped Harry, though despite the restful sleep, stretching the way he did, opened a few of the wounds on his back. It, however didn't hurt him, but Sirius saw the bloodstained shirt and yelled for Madame Pomfrey.

Those wounds still refused to heal, but Harry regained one more piece to the puzzle. As they walked down, a vision came into his mind. One shadow, no, two shadows were raising what looked like a long rope and bringing it down, laughing, or would it be called cackling? He shook his head, why wasn't he remembering it? What was preventing him from recollecting it, and what was causing him to slowly remember?

Thoughts of the incident were pushed back as Dumbledore conjured the same bowl chair and helped Harry into it while Sirius fixed him a plate of food. Remus groggily walked in and gathered up a plate as well and went to sit beside Harry.

"How did you sleep?" asked Harry, munching on piece of fruit. Lupin groaned.

"I had nightmares, and all about you and the Dursleys, tell me, please God, tell me that the books get easier to listen to?" he said with worry in his eyes.

"How should I know? I didn't write them." said Harry, he wasn't sure if he should warn his favorite Defense teacher or not. He just continued to nibble at his food. Sirius had to stop Mrs. Weasely from giving him another plate of food.

"We gave him a nutritional potion up at the Hospital Wing, if you give him more food than he can handle, he's going to get sick." said Sirius quietly, but kindly. He wanted to stockpile his godson's plate too, but Pomfrey threatened him with bodily harm if he overdid it.

Once breakfast was over, Dumbledore stood up and addressed the students.

"We are in for another day of reading, so if you would like to make yourselves more comfortable, feel free to do so. If you are unskilled in making furniture just yet, you may ask for assistance from your Head of House, the Head Boy or Girl and your Prefects." It seemed no one wanted to sit at the house tables, so they were magically removed and squashy, comfortable chairs were put in their place.

"That's more like it," as Dumbledore sat in a purple armchair beside the bowl where Harry sat between Lupin and Sirius. Ron and Hermione shared a red couch and Ginny with Luna sat beside the Weasely twins.

"Who would like to start today's reading?" he said looking about the Hall.

"I will Albus," said McGonagall, from her straight, high backed chair.

**"The Letter's From No One**

"Here we go again." muttered Harry

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment.**

Growls were heard acrossed the hall and Dumbledore looked over to Harry, with a concerned look upon his face.

**By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started**

"When is Dudley's birthday?" asked Draco

"May 2nd."

"And the summer holidays there start..?" asked Hermione, quickly getting angry.

Harry muttered quietly, "June 18th". The growls got more pronounced. Mrs. Weasely wanted to look towards Dumbledore and give him a good "Molly Weasely Rant" but saw how distraught Dumbledore was. His hands were shaking and his entire body was sagging, as if he were dying. She kept it to herself. This wasn't the time. Perhaps later.

**and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches.**

"Like father like son, a bloody monster." snarled Bill. His mother sent him a reproachful look, but he sent one back, which made her wince, the other Weasely children sniggered. It was the same look that Mrs. Weasely favored when yelling at the twins. Bill may look like a younger version of his father, but they saw their mother's discipline skills creeping out. It was actually quite funny, but also quite scary.

**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader.**

"Very good logic Harry." said Luna. Harry smiled at her while people snorted and chuckled

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favorite sport: Harry Hunting.**

"They better not have done anything." said Sirius and Lupin at the same time. They both looked at each other, with a furious look. If those brats did anything, they would deal out some 'Maurauder Justice'.

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope.**

"HOGWARTS!"yelled the Creevy brother's. Harry shook his head.

**When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley.**

"And I thank God, every day." said Harry, looking up into the sky.

**Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings.**

People started to snort and repress their laughter. The name Smeltings made them appreciate the name of Hogwarts even more.

**Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school.**

"Wonder what Stonewall High is like?" asked a Slytherin sixth year.

"It's not bad, the Chemistry class that's there is supposed to have the best teacher in Surrey. That and the sports teams are considered high grade for a public school. I was actually looking forward to it. Just not the uniform."

"Chemistry?" said Snape curiously.

"Muggle version of Potions. My old science teacher told me I had a talent for it." shrugged Harry. Snape's heart sunk, did he ruin a possible potion brewer? He would have to study Mr. Potter a little better and see for himself.

**Dudley thought this was very funny.**

"Of course he would." said Justin, rolling his eyes.

**"They stuff people's heads down the toilet at the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?"**

"Harry, we will disown you if you fall for that." said the twins with a dramatic pose. People around the hall laughed.

**"No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it-it might be sick." Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said.**

"Never mind us disowning you," said George

"can you adopt us?" said Fred with a smile. The school could hardly stay in their chairs and cushions.

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's.**

"Harry, why didn't you tell Mrs. Figg what was going on? She could have sent me a letter and you would have been pulled from that house immediately!" said Dumbledore looking shocked. For years, Arabella only said that Harry was unhappy. But not abused, had he known the extent, he would have come running to Privet Drive.

Harry paled and turned his away, "After Officer McFinn passed away, Uncle Vernon told me that if I told anyone, he'd make sure that it was something that I would live to regret. At the time, I took it to heart and he made it seem to me that Officer McFinn's death was all my fault. I didn't want Mrs. Figg hurt too. Yeah, I thought she was crazy, but she was my only escape." he buried his face into Sirius's chest, a tear, betraying his trust, fell onto the man's shirt.

Sirius hugged tightly "Harry, you didn't cause Officer McFinn's death, never think that."

"Sirius is right Harry, but I can see why you didn't go to Mrs. Figg. You really are a selfless child. I'm sorry for not checking up on you, on my own. Perhaps someday you can forgive me." said Dumbledore. He didn't smile, he merely rubbed the young boy's head.

"I already do." said Harry. Dumbledore gave him a small smile.

"Your Godfather, Remus and quite a few people don't, and I don't blame them. I wouldn't forgive them if they did what I did, I still can't forgive myself. I think, tonight, I need to talk with a few people." He motioned to McGonagall to continue.

**Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years.**

"You don't do that to chocolate, especially chocolate cake." said Lupin, trying to lighten the mood, which he halfway succeeded.

"Lupin loves his chocolate." muttered Sirius to Harry.

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters.**

A few of the fashion conscious seventh year girls looked around at the boys and then they rushed to where Dumbledore was still kneeling and rubbing Harry's head and each hugged him in turn.

"What was that all about?" said Dumbledore with a confused smile.

"Thank you for having the boys dress in black as opposed to what that school had in mind."

Dumbledore laughed. " I would never subject my students to wear anything so ridiculous."

"Just himself." muttered Pansy.

**They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking This was supposed to be good training for later in life.**

"What a horrible school! No wonder your uncle acts the way he does, they condoned his behavior!" screeched Madame Pomfrey.

"I think it sounds like a fine school." huffed Madame Umbridge.

"You would think so, wouldn't you?" muttered Snape.

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that is was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins,**

The school laughed in unison at the name, Fred and George looked at each other in true shock and horror. They turned to Ron.

"We are never, EVER calling you 'Ickle Ronniekins' again."

**he looked so handsome and grown-up. Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh.**

"You ain't the only one Harry." wheezed Terry.

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast.**

"I thought Aunt Petunia tried her hand at cooking again." said Harry, the school laughed and thought fondly back to the Knickerbocker Glories last night.

**It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water.**

**"What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question.**

"Hey, it wasn't as if she had a big, bloody sign saying 'This is what it is'" said Charlie.

**"Your new school uniform," she said**

**Harry looked in the bowl again.**

"I would do a double take too if it were me." said Draco with a smirk.

**"Oh, " he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."**

"Sarcasm is wasted on her, Harry, she never had a sense of humor." whispered Lupin.

**"Don't be stupid, " snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished."**

**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High-like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably.**

"You really like animal references don't you?" said Ginny. Harry shrugged.

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table.**

"I'd shove that stick right up his..."

"GINERVA WEASELY! yelled Mrs. Weasely, before Ginny could finish.

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat.**

**"Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper.**

"OH MY GOD! HEAD FOR HILLS PEOPLE!" bellowed Fred

"WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST" screamed George

"THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END!" hollered Lee

"HE ASKED THE PIG TO DO SOMETHING!" yelled all three of them. The school could hardly contain their laughter, even the teachers had a hard time holding it in.

**"Make Harry get it."**

**"Get the mail, Harry."**

"Crisis averted people, go about your normal lives." shouted Ron. The laughter started again.

**"Make Dudley get it."**

**"Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley."**

"He better not have touched my cub." growled Sirius. Harry smiled and leaned even further into his godfather.

**Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and - **_**a letter for Harry.**_

The students began to cheer loudly.

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? He had no friends,**

Ron and Hermione looked over to him in shock? They were his first friends? It was hard for them to believe.

**no other relatives-he didn't belong to the library,**

You mean, all the stuff you know, and you didn't go to the library to learn it?"

"No, I went to the library, it's just I never took the books home. I learned to be a speed reader."

"What do you mean 'all the stuff you know'?" said Hermione suspiciously.

Ron and Harry looked up at the ceiling and whistled innocently. Hermione narrowed her eyes.

**so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake:**

**Mr. H. Potter**

**The Cupboard Under the Stairs**

**4 Privet Drive**

**Little Whinging**

**Surrey.**

"Minerva, we must stop using a self-addressing quill. We could have prevented something by looking at the addresses." said Dumbledore, shaking his head.

"Don't I know it." she replied with a tear trickling down her cheek.

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp.**

"What the heck is a stamp?" asked a pureblood from Hufflepuff.

"It's a small sort of sticker that Muggles put on their letters, it's a way of paying to have it delivered." said Mrs. Weasely before Hermione could answer.

"They pay? What a waste of money." said Blaise with a smirk.

**Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion,**

"GRYFFINDOR!" yelled the house known for its bravery and nobility.

**an eagle,**

"RAVENCLAW!**" **yelled the house known for wisdom and wit.

**a badger,**

"HUFFLEPUFF!" yelled the house known for its loyalty

**and a snake**

"SLYTHERIN!~ yelled the house known for their cunning.

**surrounding a large letter **_**H**_

_"_HOGWARTS!" bellowed the entire student body.

**"Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchens.**

"If you wanted it sooner, you should have gotten off your lazy arse and fetched it yourself!" bellowed Mr. Weasely. His children and wife stared at him in shock.

"What? I couldn't hold it in any longer."

**"What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke.**

"That was pathetic, I think I'm going to be sick." said Fred while George gagged.

**Harry went back to the kitchens, still staring at his letter. He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope.**

"Potter! Why did you open your mail there? You know they were going to take it!" said a haggard looking Auror.

"He was excited to just get a letter." said Kingsley

**Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard.**

**"Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk..."**

"What the heck is a whelk," asked a Slytherin first year.

"It's sort of a snail that lives in seashells." said Harry

"Why would you eat them." said the poor Slytherin, face turning green.

"Oh I don't know, throw in some leeks, eels, and clams and you can make them taste pretty good." said Harry offhandedly.

Sirius looked shocked over at Harry.

"You've eaten it?" he said, turning just as green as the Slytherin

"Made it actually, whelks are Aunt Marge's favorite food. Every time she visits, we have a fish pie or something else." he noticed the nauseated looks around the room. Harry laughed. "I won't even ask if you want me to make it."

"Thank you." said Ron quietly.

**"Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"**

"He just had to ruin Harry's moment didn't he?" moaned Ernie.

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope,**

"Potter, " growled Moody, "I've never been this impressed before..."

"Excuse me?" said Tonks indignantly.

"As I was saying, " sending his protégé a well-meaning growl. "I've never been this impressed with an eleven year old wizard before. Nice observation skills.

**when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon.**

**"That's **_**mine**_**!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back.**

"Oooh! Harry's getting mad! said Fred excitedly

"And when Harry gets mad..." said George in an equally excited tone

"Things get scary." they both said together.

"What do you mean? Does he get violent? said Fudge excitedly.

"Not at all, but he does tend to give you a severe dressing down." said Fred matter-of-factly.

"And that you don't want, cause when he does." said George

"You pray to God it ends soon." said them both with what looked like a fake shudder.

Harry blushed.

**"Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon,**

"I WOULD!**" **yelled a majority of the students.

**shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge.**

"Eww! I don't think I want to eat porridge again." said a third year Ravenclaw.

"I didn't either for a week." said Harry.

**"P-P-Petunia!" he gasped.**

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise.**

"If only she would." muttered Ron

**"Vernon! Oh my goodness - Vernon!"**

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick.**

The entire school was silent, they all slowly turned towards Harry.

"What?" asked Harry with his brows furrowed.

Harry grew up with these people right? He never acted like that. Hell, he was the nicest person in the school, really. Hermione and Ron were nice too, but if you came to Hermione with a personal problem she made everything sound logical, even the passing of a beloved pet. Ron was the same as Hermione, except instead of using logic, he could be tactless. Ernie spread the word after their second year that Harry stood up for Malfoy when everyone tried saying that he was the Slytherin heir after Hermione was attacked. How did Harry become the Harry they all knew, growing up with, obviously the worst people on the planet.

**"I want to read that letter," he said loudly.**

"I thought Dudley couldn't read." said a Slytherin.

"He can't, but, when there is something I want to read, like the paper or a book, he takes it, pretends to read it and then loses it on purpose." he tried doing that with a few of my school books. Aunt Petunia told him off, it was beautiful." smiled Harry fondly.

**"**_**I**_** want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's **_**mine**_**"**

**"Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside it's envelope.**

**Harry didn't move.**

**"I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.**

"You're sounding more and more like your mother." grinned Sirius.

"How do you mean?" asked Harry

"Your dad was laid back and easy going, hardly anything fazed him. Your mom on the other hand..." he whistled, "when she got mad, the whole world knew it."

"He sounds like a half and half mix of what his parents were." said Neville.

**"Let **_**me**_** see it!" demanded Dudley.**

**"OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall,**

The yelling that would sometimes crop up in the Hall started again, but none so loud as Mrs. Weasely.

"HE COULD'VE HURT YOU!"

"I was fine Mrs. Weasley. I wasn't hurt." said Harry with a small smile. He was thinking back to that time and remembered something. After that first letter, his uncle was real careful around him. He didn' t hurt him as bad as he normally did, unless Harry accidentally did something, that was considered really, REALLY, bad in his eyes. He silently thanked the school, for sending him the letter.

**slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole;**

"Sorry Harry, but that would have been insanely funny to watch." said Bill with a small smile. Harry chuckled.

**Dudley won,**

The school groaned, that would have been awesome if Harry could've won.

**so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor.**

"Resourceful too, not bad Potter." nodded Moody.

**"Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address-how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?"**

"...should have...could've saved..." mumbled Dumbledore quietly. Only Lupin and Harry could hear him. Harry crawled over Lupin's lap, who in shock, noticed how light he was. Harry grasped Dumbledore's tightened, pale hands and squeezed. Dumbledore looked up quickly gave him a small smile, before Sirius pulled him back. Jealous of the attention the old man was getting, and a little angry at Harry, who was so quick to forgive and forget.

**"Watching-spying-might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.**

**"But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want-"**

"Not even that would keep Hogwarts from getting Potter." said Snape calmly.

**Harry could see Uncle Vernon shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen.**

"I should be impressed that he could bend over to polish his own shoes." said Percy.

"He never polishes his own shoes." said Harry. People turned quickly to him and stared.

"He better not have..."

"Not even he would trust me with his two hundred pound shoes."

"He paid that much for ruddy shoes!" said a Muggleborn.

"Aunt Petunia's cocktail dresses are worth more than that."

**"No, " he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer...Yes, that's best...we won't do anything..."**

**"But-"**

**"I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?"**

People around the Great Hall blinked, they turned around to Harry, very slowly. Just staring. A few moments had passed till Harry finally couldn't take the deafening silence anymore.

"What's wrong now?" He looked to Dumbledore, and was in for a shock. Dumbledore was sobbing into his hands. Even harder, Sirius and Remus noticed, than last night. Lupin decided to answer Harry's question.

"Harry, 'stamping out' the magic in a person is a very dangerous thing. The consequences could have been disastrous, even..._deadly_. You could have been reduced to.." he shuddered and his voice broke. "...to a person similar to a victim of the Dementor's Kiss. All your magic and your soul would be stripped from your body. We...we would never know the real you." finished Sirius, his voice cracking. He brought Harry into a tight embrace and refused to let go. The Weasely's, teachers and the rest of Harry's friends looked down. They didn't want to think about it, they couldn't think about it. They could have lost Harry, forever. It was too terrible to imagine. It took a half hour for McGonagall to continue on with the reading.

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard.**

"How could he fit? " asked Fred, remembering how small the cupboard really was.

"Wasn't easy for him." said Harry with a smirk.

**"Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?"**

**"No one. It was addressed to you by mistake,"**

"Bull, it had his cupboard on it." said Angelina with snarl.

**said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it."**

"I'm gonna kill him." muttered Sirius. "The Acceptance Letter is supposed to be the most important moment in a young wizard or witch's life. And he FUCKING BURNS IT!"

"SIRIUS! LANGUAGE!" reprimanded Mrs. Weasely, gesturing towards the students.

**"It was **_**not**_** a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it."**

**"SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful.**

"If he touches you in any shape or form, I'm gonna rip him apart". said Lupin, Sirius nodded.

"Hope his smile did hurt him." said Charlie.

**"Er-yes, Harry-about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking...you're really getting a bit big for it**

"He was too big for it when you first put him in there you..."

"Molly! Language!" taunted Sirius, mimicking her gesture to the students.

**...we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom."**

The silence returned once more. The students looked at each other slowly. Did he say _second bedroom_? That fat git had a second bedroom, whereas Harry didn't even have one? The Weasely's looked over to Harry, Harry appeared to be dozing in Sirius's chest. His legs laying on top of Lupin's lap, Lupin had picked them up and set them there so Harry could just lay down instead of sitting all the time.

Harry was pretending to be napping, he didn't want to look at them. This book was horrible, none of Harry's thoughts were safe anymore, it was torture. "_Well,_" thought Harry, "_At least I got Sirius out of it, I guess I can endure it._"

**"Why?" said Harry.**

"Don't question a good thing Harry." said Lupin, knowing full well that Harry was pretending to be asleep.

Moody on the other hand, approved. "Good lad, get all the facts, never know what the Walrus has in mind, giving you a bedroom." he added with a sober tone.

Tonks blanched, "You don't think...he wouldn't.." she whimpered. She couldn't take it, she hurried over to the trio in the bowl and gave Harry a shake. Sirius also knew Harry was faking, so he didn't stop her. Harry opened his eyes slowly and she whispered in his ear. The entire school stared, they couldn't figure out what was going on. What Moody said to upset the female Auror was spoken too quietly, they didn't hear it. They, however heard a great sigh of relief when Harry shook his head to the question Tonks put to him.

**"Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now."**

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room.**

"What was it that you all owned?" said Draco, no hint of a sneer. The same couldn't be said for his cohorts. They were laughing silently.

"Well, let's see, I had six small, broken army figurines, five pairs of socks, five pairs of socks, underwear pants and five different shirts. And an assortment of medals and plaques I won at primary school."

"What did you win them for?" asked Sirius, he was interested in knowing the talents his godson possessed besides flying.

Harry looked pensive, " I had about fourteen trophies and medals for running, but I managed to only salvage two. The one in my pocket and the other one is a big one that I still haven't been able to glue back together. I had a one for music, that was a piece of paper in a frame, Uncle Vernon set that one on fire. I saved it, not before it was mostly destroyed though. Then there was a chemistry award the teacher gave me. Dudley threw that one away personally. I had to rummage through the town dump just to fish it out. Took me two hours. Had to use the community showers by the town pool just to get presentable enough to go in the house. I had some other ones, but they didn't last very long in that house." So I've only got four out of more than twenty."

Subtle growls went around the school.

**He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog;**

"Ouch!" whined Sirius, rubbing his backside absentmindedly.

**in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been canceled;**

"Good Lord!" moaned a Muggleborn, there had been shows that he liked too, that were canceled, but he never put his foot through a TV in anger before.

**there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle,**

"What's an air rifle, dad?" asked Charlie curiously.

"Remember what I told you about guns? Instead of gunpowder, they use compressed air."

"And this idiot traded a living thing for something that could kill? I WANT TO BE THE FIRST ONE TO HEX THIS LITTLE TWIT!" screamed Charlie.

**which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it.**

"Whoa! Dudley must be huge! My cousin has an air rifle, and those things are freaking hard to bend!"

**Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched.**

"WHAT?" yelled Hermione and some of the Ravenclaws.

"I told you, Dudley didn't know how to read then." seeing the looks on the Ravenclaws and Hermione, he added quickly. "But I've read them."

"What was your favorite, Harry? asked Hermione, forgetting to be furious.

"Oliver Twist"

The people in the room who had read that particular book, didn't look too happy.

"Why?"

"Makes me feel a lot better of my lot in life." said Harry. People started to growl, not to him, but the thought of the Dursleys. Harry had to hold his hands up.

"Listen, I get it, you don't like the Dursleys, I'm not a big fan of theirs either. What I meant by what I said, was that I was never, almost forced to a life of crime. And I wasn't shot, for being somewhere I never wanted to be. Now, is it possible to drop it for now? You're all kinda starting to scare me." he added playfully. The school hesitated, then nodded.

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't **_**want**_** him in there...I **_**need **_**that room...make him get out..."**

"I'll give yer what yer need yer little..." said Hagrid in a threatening tone.

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it.**

Nobody had a funny comment or snide remark about that. They all sat in silence, they too would rather have the letter then a spacious room. Especially if that letter meant an escape from that wretched family.

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick,**

"That boy needs a spanking!" whispered Madame Bones to her niece. Susan nodded furiously.

**been sick on purpose,**

"No loss there." said Draco.

**kicked his mother,**

"Someone please smack him!" said Percy, rolling his eyes.

**and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof,**

Shouting over Charlie's rants of animal cruelty, Neville asked Harry, "What kind of plants do you have in there?"

"Vegetables, and herbs I use for cooking, the Dursley's won't admit it, but the stuff in that greenhouse is all mine. I planted everything in there, the vegetables came in handy the summer I turned fourteen."

"Why is that?" asked Sirius.

"If the books print it, you'll see."

**and he still didn't have his room back. Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall.**

"Hindsight is 20/20" muttered both Harry and Dumbledore in unison. They both looked at each other Dumbledore didn't smile, but Harry's was enough for the both of them.

**Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly.**

**When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry,**

"Ten years too late." snarled Flitwick.

**made Dudley go and get it. They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive-'"**

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon lept form his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him.**

"GET 'EM HARRY!" yelled the Gryffindors.

**Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind.**

"Practicing for your fight with the troll, Harry?" smiled Ron.

"What troll?" asked Sirius. Harry smiled pointed towards the book, looking sheepish. Sirius paled looking at the book, that was only the first year book!

"Fifty points to Gryffindor." whispered Snape, smirking at the look of distraught on Black's face.

**After a minute of confused fighting in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand.**

**"Go to your cupboard-I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley-go-just go."**

**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan.**

"Dear lord, if it's anything like James's plans, they won't go well." said Lupin with a smirk.

"I thought dad was your guy's leader." said Harry with a shocked look on his face.

"He was, but your dad's plans sucked," said Sirius tickling Harry's stomach. After Harry laughingly tried in vain to escape his Godfather's fingers, Lupin continued "I was the one who had to come up with the plans that didn't get us caught."

"You were a prankster, Professor!" said the twins and Lee, mouths open in obvious shock.

Harry looked between Sirius and Lupin and grinned ear to ear.

"Fred, George, Lee, I'd like you to meet Padfoot and Moony. Two of the Marauders." grinned Harry. The twins and Lee gaped at them, then each other and came over to kneel in front them. Then they kissed their feet.

"What the hell..?" said Sirius picking up his feet, out of their reach.

"You're our HEROES! We idolize you guys!"

"Doesn't mean you have to kiss my feet." said Sirius with an uncomfortable look on his face. Lupin agreed with him.

"Back on plans," said Harry trying not to laugh in front of his Godfather. "It's kinda not the same with us, is it Hermione?" Hermione blushed.

"Why do you say that?" Lupin asked puzzled.

"Hermione is the one that tries to plan everything out, then everything goes to hell. I take over when she can't find a way out of a situation. Which works out great in the long run."

"Harry is wonderful when everyone else is panicking." said Hermione grinning. Ron and Neville nodded.

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning.**

"How did you get the alarm clock fixed?" asked Mr. Weasely earnestly.

"I've always been good with my hands." said Harry.

"Next time you're over, I need some help on some things." said Mr. Weasely excitedly.

"Alright." said Harry with a smile.

**Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights.**

"Good thinking boy, move slowly and carefully." growled Moody.

**He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first.**

"Not a bad plan, Potter." said Snape, the sides of his mouth twitching.

"Trust me, it doesn't end well, like one of Hermione's plans in action."

**His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door-**

**"AAAAARRRGH!"**

"What the hell happened now?" asked Bill nervously.

**Harry lept into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat-something **_**alive**_**!**

"Dear God! Tell me it's your uncle!" Sirius spoke excitedly.

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big,**

"Come on..."

**squashy**

"Come on..."

**something had been**

"Let's hear it..." his breathing becoming quick.

**his uncle's face.**

"YAHOO!" yelled Sirius and sat straight up and danced around in a circle. Harry was lifted off his Godfather's chest and unceremoniously fell behind him as he danced for joy. He could help but laugh. Fred and George joined him to the laughter and cheer of the rest of the school. It took fifteen minutes for the trio to calm down. Sirius picked Harry up and laid his torso back on his lap.

Umbridge scowled. "You should be ashamed of yourself Mr. Potter, stepping on the man who graciously took you in, gave you the clothes on your back and food in your stomach..." she would have continued, but she had to dodge a few curses and hexes sent from several students, teachers, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore and Madame Bones herself.

**Uncle Vernon had been lying at the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea.**

"Oi! He ain't your servant!" said Ron indignantly

**Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink.**

**"I want-" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes.**

"Oh, Harry." fretted Hermione and Mrs. Weasely.

"I'm so sorry Harry." said Professor McGonagall "You shouldn't have been put through that."

"It's okay, I was used to it, Dudley and Uncle Vernon ripped apart and destroyed most of my awards, this actually wasn't anything different and it didn't bother me. I knew there would be more coming. I felt in my bones." he smiled broadly. The students at first looked angry, but then their expressions softened when they saw his smile.

**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot.**

"Yeah, cause that job will take all day to do." said Sprout, rolling her eyes.

**"See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't **_**deliver**_** them they'll just give up."**

"I never give up." said McGonagall smugly.

**"I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon."**

**"Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him.**

People snorted at this, this man was trying to say he was more intelligent than themselves, yet he was trying to hammer a nail into a piece of wood with food.

One person spoke this thought out loud when Harry spoke up. "The nail did gone in easier with the fruitcake then it would have with the hammer. Aunt Petunia made that one." More snorts were heard around the room.

"Fruitcake is nasty." said Sirius sticking his tongue out.

"We'll see if that opinion still holds true." said Harry smugly.

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom.**

"Gave Uncle Vernon the shock of his life, seeing those poke through." said Harry with a smirk on his face. People were rolling on the floor laughing.

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters,**

Growls creeped through the Great Hall.

**he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises.**

"That was the only time that I heard him hum, I tried to hum at another time in the kitchen, he came up behind me and smacked me on the back of my head."

"Why on earth, would he do that?" asked Professor Flitwick in shock.

Harry shrugged, "No music allowed in the house."

"Why not?" asked Hermione

"He saw me enjoying the music on in the kitchen, and singing along. Apparently he didn't like my singing voice." said Harry with a smile.

"To be brutally honest, Harry, your father couldn't carry a tune in a bucket." said Sirius.

"Lily was the same way," said Lupin with a small smile.

"How does that 'Tiptoe' song go?" asked a nervous first year from the Ravenclaw table.

Harry thought carefully, thinking of the words and remembering the tempo his uncle used. He closed his eyes and sang it out loud.

What he didn't know was that everyone stared at him. His voice was a soft, airy tenor, yet it held the possibilities of going deeper into a baritone and becoming rich and full. The lyrics and the melody coming from him, were beautiful. They silently begged for more.

When Harry was done, he opened his eyes and saw everyone staring at him. He began to worry, he wondered if he was as bad as his uncle had said he was. That all changed when everyone, excluding Umbridge and a restrained Fudge, stood up and applauded. Harry blushed deeply and covered his face into his stunned Godfather's chest.

"Mr. Potter, I want to see you in choir next year!" squeaked Flitwick, tears coming down his face. "We need a voice like yours!"

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor.**

"It's hers, cause I refuse to use it. I prefer to do it myself, without help." said Harry, who was still buried in the folds of the man's cloak.

**"Who on earth wants to talk to **_**you**_** this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

"Everybody who really knows him." said Hermione with some pride in her voice.

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill,**

"Good" said Kingsley, accidentally out loud, attracting some attention.

**but happy.**

"Damn, well life can't be perfect." he said out loud again. People around him snickered into their hands.

**"No post on Sundays,"**

"Really? Muggles don't get mail on Sunday's? Why not?" asked a Slytherin fourth year.

"Some muggles, consider it a day of rest, a governmental day off as it were, as well." stated Harry.

**he reminded them cheerfully as he spread marmalade on his newspapers,**

"However, no sane person should do that on any day, never mind a Sunday." said Harry amusingly

**"no damn letters today-"**

"That's what you think." said Harry in a singsong voice. Lupin smiled over to Harry, glad he was finally enjoying himself.

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one-**

"Just pick one up off the floor, Potter!" yelled Draco.

"Was too excited to think logically or rationally, I just wanted to grab one of those elusive little buggers." said Harry with a wide grin.

**"Out! OUT!"**

**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall.**

Another hush came over the school, Madame Pomfrey made to hurry to Harry, when Sirius and Remus stopped her.

"He's fine, we've got him."

**When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floors.**

**"The does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time.**

"Ouch." said a few seventh and sixth year boys, feeling the faint traces of hair just above their top lip. The men who already had grown theirs out, winced.

**"I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!"**

**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag.**

"What he was doing with a sports bag, I have no idea. Never did anything athletic, even after ten feet of chasing me down, he gave up." remarked Harry after Mrs. Weasely quietly ranted about hitting a child over the head for over packing.

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while.**

**"Shake 'em off...shake 'em off." he would mutter whenever he did this.**

"Man after your own heart, Moody! OUCH!" said Tonks cheekily, then Moody smacked the back of her head.

"Don't compare me to him."

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling.**

"Aww..poor baby." said the twins.

**He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer.**

"Geez what a hard life he lives, only one thing can make it worse." said Ron

"Living it for more than one day, like Harry does." said Hermione.

The twins looked in shock. "They're stealing our act."

The school erupted with laughter.

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars**

"I've noticed something Harry, every time something is bothering you or you're worried about something, you sit on the windowsill and stare out onto the grounds. You stay that way all night long." said Dean.

The teachers exchanged looks, and then they looked to Poppy, next time they hear about that, they'll have to give Potter a sleeping potion, even if they have to hold him down and pour it down his throat.

**and wondering...**

Before they could ask, he answered. "I was wondering who was sending the letters and what did they want with me?"

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day.**

"What time is it?" Ron said as his stomach grumbled. Before Dumbledore could bring out his watch, Harry looked up in the sky, at the sun. "It's two-sixteen." said Harry calmly. Dumbledore frowned in curiosity at Harry and looked at his own watch, his eyes widened in shock.

"On..the..nose..." he slowly looked over to Harry with a surprised look on his face. Everyone gaped at the raven haired teen.

"Guess we missed lunch." he said glumly. Then the a long table of food appeared in the center of the room.

"A late lunch is always welcomed." said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling, yet never really leaving the young man lying in the bowl. He waved his wand at the table and four plates of food began to fill themselves. They then levitated over to Dumbledore, Sirius, Lupin and Harry.

"With Harry draped over the both of you like that, I didn't think you could bring yourselves to move." he said with a smile.

Lupin sent a smile of appreciation back to him. While they ate, McGonagall continued on with the reading, in between mouthfuls.

**They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table.**

**"'Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk."**

**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address:**

**Mr. H. Potter**

**Room 17**

**Railview Hotel**

**Cokeworth**

"You were in Cokeworth? Did you..." started Hermione, but with a glance from Harry, she quieted.

"I didn't see much of anything Hermione. Just blurs going past the window."

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared.**

**"I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and followed her from the dining room.**

**"Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back into the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multileveled parking garage.**

"What the hell is he doing?" asked Lupin.

"Running for his life." said Harry plainly.

**"Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon. Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared.**

"What a horrid man!" screeched Madame Pomfrey.

**It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley sniveled.**

**"It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a **_**television**_**."**

"Who's The Great Humwhatsit?" asked Ron.

"An annoying man who says he can impersonate the voice anybody who comes to the show, its faked, the people are already picked out for it." said Hermione.

"Wonder what's so great about him."

"He's a GREAT big fraud."

**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it **_**was**_** Monday-and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days of the week, because of television**

"Go figure." moaned Hermione.

**-then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday.**

People in the school cheered. Harry blushed deeply.

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun-last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks.**

People turned to him in shock and disbelief, THOSE weren't presents!

**Still, you weren't eleven every day.**

"Way to stay positive, Potter" said Moody. Though he was deeply disturbed by the way his life had been up to this point.

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. He was also carrying a long thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought.**

**"Found the perfect place!" he said, "Come on! Everyone out!"**

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine.**

"That's perfect?" exclaimed Tonks, "I'd love to see his version of terrible."

"He said my singing voice was terrible." said Harry.

"My point has just been made." said Tonks gestering towards Harry.

**One thing was certain, there was no television there.**

"I kinda feel sorry..."said Fred with a sniff.

"..for Dudley.." George said while whipping a fake tear away.

"NOT!"

**"Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully,**

"And he's excited by that?" asked Professor Vector, with eyebrows raised.

**clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!"**

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing with a rather wicked grin,**

"I've read about old fashioned gentlemen, in romance books," said a seventh year Gryffindor. "Only _Gentleman_ there is Harry." Sirius nudged Harry in the ribs raising and lowering his eyebrows quickly. Harry groaned, blushed and buried his head again. The school laughed again.

**at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them.**

"You couldn't pay me to go over that water on a broomstick!" yelped Dean.

**"I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!"**

**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces.**

"Out of curiosity," said Lupin, a grim look on his face. "who rowed?"

"I started, but Uncle Vernon noticed I wasn't nearly strong enough to keep us going in a straight line. He took over. Only after we nearly capsized a few times."

Dark muttering took possession of the school till McGonagall stopped her own muttering with Flitwick to continue reading.

**After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house.**

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty.**

"Nice, a real fixer-upper." Hermione said rolling her eyes.

**There were only two rooms.**

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and a four bananas.**

Some of the Gryffindors looked down at their plates, which still had some food, they stood up and wanted to give some to Harry, when Lupin held his hand up to halt them.

"He's full, we made sure."

**He tried to start up a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up.**

"Well, duh, those bags aren't made of paper or wood. Idiot."

**"Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.**

"Let me at him!" yelled Charlie, Bill had to pull him back down to his seat, which took a lot of effort.

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail, Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn' t cheer him up at all.**

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows.**

People looked around nervously, they wouldn't of want to spend a minute in that house, let alone the night!

**Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket.**

Silence again ran rampant through the school. They turned around to look at Harry, who was still lounging against Sirius. Dumbledore stood up waved his wand in the air and a giant, thick red and gold quilt, with a lion on it, appeared. He covered Harry with it. Harry was initially embarrassed, he was fine, he wasn't cold. But the weight of the covers felt too good to remove them.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered**

Sirius placed another, but lighter, blanket over top the gold one. This one was blue, with a giant broomstick on it.

**and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger.**

Lupin took a plate of snacks from Mrs. Weasely and he himself placed some chocolates on the plate. He handed Harry a piece of fruit and waited for Harry to eat it.

**Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now.**

"In my office, going through all the replies and awaiting yours, Mr. Potter."

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did.**

"A typical Harry thought." snorted Ron. Hermione turned to glare at him.

**Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow.**

"Good idea, Potter, have a plan already, ready to use."

**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea?**

Few people squirmed in their seats, this was getting scary.

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds...twenty...ten...nine-maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy-**

"Do it!" yelled the Weasely twins. "It would be so worth it!"

**three...two...one...**

**BOOM.**

McGonagall yelled. People had fallen off their chairs and landed on the floor. Sirius and Lupin instinctly placed their bodies over Harry's to protect him. Even Dumbledore jumped a little. Moody was cursing very loudly towards the Transfigurations Professor.

"Constant vigilance, Alastor." said McGonagall said simply. People around the school started to laugh hard, but was silenced by the look the retired Auror sent them.

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

"Who the bloody hell is it?" said Lupin. Harry and Sirius looked at him in shock.

"You cursed Moony!" said Sirius with an impressed look.

"Hey! I'm human..." he stated.

"Hardly." Umbridge said, cutting him off.

Third years and up snarled at her. Even the teachers looked at her in fury.

"More human then you ever will be!" yelled Harry.

"Don't you dare talk to me! You worthless boy!" she spat back.

Harry flinched, it wasn't from her insulting him, just the words. He heard them somewhere before recently, who said it? He couldn't remember. It must have something to do with the incident, but what was it? Harry's brain was still a little fuzzy from the fever and he couldn't think straight half the time.

While Harry was sitting in the bowl thinking, McGonagall stood up, walked over to her and punched her soundly in the jaw again. Knocking Umbridge once again to the floor, and she was once again, out cold.

"PROFESSOR! YOU ATTACKED..." yelled the Minister.

"SOMEONE WHO EARNED IT!" screamed McGonagall. The school erupted in cheers.

"I will have you arrested, Minerva!" said Fudge looking wildly around, "And I have plenty of witnesses."

"I'm sorry Cornelius, did you say something?" said Madame Bones curiously. The Aurors, taking her lead, (for they had no love for the woman either) shrugged their shoulders too. The Minister watched as all the "witnesses" denied seeing anything. Even the Slytherins feigned blindness and said their attentions laid elsewhere. He sat down and tried to awaken his Undersecretary. To no avail, she wasn't waking up.


	8. Chapter 8

Fudge kept trying to wake up Umbridge and nobody was even halfheartedly willing to help him, amazingly, not even Madame Pomfrey.

Professor McGonagall flipped the page to the next chapter, a smile came acrossed her lips.

"Hagrid, I think you may want to read the next chapter." she said handing him the book.

"Alrigh'" he took the book and when he read the title, a bigger smile then McGonagall's stretched acrossed his face.

**The Keeper of the Keys**

The school erupted into cheers. Fudge gave up trying to wake up Umbridge and satisfied himself with just conjuring up a cot and putting her on it. He might as well keep a constant vigil on the proceedings seeing as how she couldn't.

**BOOM.**

Hagrid bellowed out that word to the school, knocking a few students, who thought they were safe with Hagrid's reading, off their chairs a second time that afternoon.

**They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake.**

**"Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly.**

"Can he talk any other way, really? said Draco snidely.

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands-now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them.**

"OH MY GOD! HE COULD HURT SOMEONE WITH THAT THING!" screamed Hermione.

"The really scary thing is, he has no idea what to do with it." said Harry absently, snuggling underneath the blankets. He was very comfortable, and felt that the worst was finally over.

"What do you mean 'no idea what to do with it'?" asked Sirius clutching Harry's shoulder gently.

"He's never held a gun before, when he came out; it was facing the wrong damn way. He could've easily shot himself, that is, if the trigger wasn't so far away. I actually came over and flipped the gun around."

"Why would you do that?" asked Hermione fearfully. "He could've killed someone with it!"

"I put the safety on and took the shells out, Uncle Vernon never even noticed." smiled Harry.

"Very quick thinking Harry." said Dumbledore approvingly. "But what would have happened if it was someone who wished you and the Dursleys harm?"

Harry quickly noticed that Dumbledore didn't' say "your family" he smiled. Then he thought about it. "Wrenched the gun away, took the safety off, loaded the gun and fired." he said simply.

"Can you fire one of those things?" said Sirius in an amazed tone.

"With all of Dudley's shows, I've seen how they work, though I would've been knocked on my butt from the recoil. They've got a massive kick."

Sirius chuckled and kissed his Godson's head.

**"Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you-I'm armed!"**

"So is he!" yelled Harry from amongst the blankets.

The students didn't know who he was talking about, but Ron, Hermione and the teachers all laughed.

**There was a pause. Then-**

**SMASH!**

Students hit the floor again as Hagrid yelled once again.

**The door was hit with such a force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor.**

**A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles.**

"HAGRID!" yelled the students, applauding.

"Yeh make me soun' scary 'arry." said Hagrid with a concerned look on his face.

Harry laughed as he pushed his head out of the covers. "I didn't know you Hagrid. I didn't know how gentle you are."

Hagrid blushed and tried to carry on with the reading.

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all.**

**"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..."**

"Hagrid, only you could knock a door down to the ground with a push of your finger and just carry on as if it were perfectly normal." smiled Lupin. Dumbledore smiled as well.

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear.**

"Thanks Hagrid, for putting some fear into that brat!" called Draco.

Everyone turned and stared at him. "What?" he said again, they said nothing.

**"Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger.**

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother,**

"That will be near impossible." said Ron, who had seen Dudley the summer that he came to Privet Drive. He couldn't believe the contrast between his best mate and his best mate's cousin.

**who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon.**

"Well that made it a little easier." smirked Ron.

**"An' here's Harry!" said the giant.**

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile.**

**"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes."**

"You were the first to say that to me Hagrid. I haven't stopped hearing it since." said Harry.

"You make it sound like you're tired of hearing it." said Sirius curiously.

"I'm not tired of it, I never will be, it's just...I'm not my father, or my mother...I'm my own person. And sometimes, I feel like some adults keep forgetting that." he said quietly.

This statement pulled at Sirius's heartstrings, as well as Lupin's, "Harry, we know that you are your own person. James was never a singer, neither was your mother. Yet, here you are, with the voice of an angel! James couldn't boil water, and your mother, well, she was learning. She couldn't make food the way you can! You've got so many talents that neither of them had! But you are right, we and other people keep shoving that statement down your throat, we promise not to confuse you with your parents, alright?"

Harry smiled, turned a light shade of pink and nodded.

**Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise.**

**"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!"**

**"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant;**

"That's telling him Hagrid!" yelled the twins.

**he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room.**

The students jumped up in down, on the floor, in their chairs, they were excited. The Dursleys were finally getting their comeuppance!

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on.**

**"Anyway-Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here-I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."**

**From the inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with **_**Happy Birthday Harry**_** written on it in green icing.**

"The first birthday cake I've had in ten years, Hagrid!" Sirius, Remus, Mr. and Mrs. Weasely and Dumbledore all looked saddened by that statement.

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**

"Harry, where are your manners?" admonished Mrs. Weasely.

"Molly, the book just said he meant to say thank you, the kid was in shock." said Moody.

**The giant chuckled.**

**"True, I haven't introduced meeself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."**

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm.**

"Golly 'Arry, didn't mean ter hurt yeh." said Hagrid sadly.

"It's alright, Hagrid. I was fine."

**"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."**

"HAGRID! DON'T DRINK IN FRONT OF CHILDREN!" scolded Madame Pomfrey and Mrs. Weasely. Hagrid looked guilty.

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted.**

"Knew that wasn't good enough ter start a fire with." he snorted, again.

**He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath.**

Hermione brought a blanket she had transfigured and draped it on top of the other two.

"How many blankets are you people going to try and bury me under?" said Harry with his eyebrows raised.

"You keep saying you're cold!"

"That was five years ago! I'm perfectly comfortable right now!" said Harry with a playful smile.

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of his pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs,**

"Cripes! How many pockets do you have, Hagrid?"

"'bout twenty-seven" said Hagrid offhandedly. People whistled.

**and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea.**

Madam Pomfrey and Mrs. Weasely began to scold Hagrid angrily, Hagrid had to hide, unsuccessfully, behind the book.

"I..it...w..w..wasn't..." he gulped.

"It was butterbeer! I saw the same bottle at The Three Broomsticks! Same bottle, same scent." said Harry firmly.

The scolding stopped immediately.

**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage.**

"Ron you just ate!" said Hermione in shock when she heard his stomach growl.

**Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little.**

"Course he would." spat Hermione bitterly.

**Uncle Vernon said sharply, " Don't touch anything he gives you Dudley."**

"He doesn't need any more fatting." said Charlie darkly.

**The giant chuckled darkly.**

**"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry."**

"Glad we agree on that." said Charlie walking up and shaking Hagrid's hand.

**He passed the sausages to Harry,**

"Good! Harry needs some fattening up." said Charlie, who laughed at the indignant look Harry sent him.

**who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful,**

It took Harry a while to convince Sirius, Lupin and Mrs. Weasely, who each conjured up a plate of snacks, that he was full.

**but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are."**

"That's better, Harry." smiled Mrs. Weasely.

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.**

"Now, just need to work on Hagrid's manners." mumbled Mrs. Weasely, but meaning well.

**"Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts-yeh'lll know all about Hogwarts, o'course."**

**"Er-no," said Harry.**

**Hagrid looked shocked.**

As did the rest of the school.

**"Sorry," Harry said quickly.**

"For what?" asked Ron.

"I'm used to saying that every time someone starts to look like that." Harry said simply.

**"**_**Sorry?**_**" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?"**

**"All what?" asked Harry.**

**"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. "Now wait jus' one second!"**

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall.**

"GET 'EM HAGRID! LET 'EM HAVE IT! yelled the twins and the rest of the Quidditch team.

**"Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy-this boy!-knows nothin', abou'-about ANYTHING?"**

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad.**

"When you are accepted to Hogwarts and if you went to a muggle school before this, we get a copy of your marks, and we review them, seeing if you need any extra help in an area. Yours, Harry, were very impressive. Miss Granger's marks were nowhere near yours." said Dumbledore, staring straight ahead, thinking fondly.

Hermione looked at Harry with her mouth hanging open.

**"I know **_**some**_** things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff."**

"Math and stuff?" asked Hermione with a smirk.

"I would like to hear how the conversation would go if you were there, instead of me." Harry said with a small sneer. Her smirk went away quickly with a blush

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About **_**our**_** world, I mean.**_**Your**_** world. **_**My**_** world. **_**Yer parents' world."**_

**"What world?"**

"Really?" said Sirius with a smile.

"Hey I was still in shock, cut me some slack."

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode.**

**"DURSLEY!" he boomed.**

Hagrid boomed it as well, students, again, were sent to the floor.

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at Harry.**

"What?" said a Ravenclaw, "Mimblewimble?" No one could answer her.

**"But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said. "I mean they're**_**famous.**_** You're **_**famous**_**."**

**"What? My-my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?"**

**"Yeh don' know...yeh don' know..." Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare.**

**"Yeh don' know what yeh **_**are**_**?" he said finally.**

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice.**

"Damn, it was nice not hearing from him." growled Moody.

**"Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!"**

"Yeah, like Hagrid will listen to a man like you." said George.

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagird now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage.**

**"You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?"**

"I wonder what they ever did with that letter?" asked McGonagall, _burnt it most likely _she thought.

**"Kept **_**what**_** form me?" said Harry eagerly.**

**"STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic.**

**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror.**

**"Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry-yer a wizard."**

The school raised a loud cheer, this was the turning point in Harry's life! Now the good times were a coming!

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard.**

**"I'm a **_**what**_**?" gasped Harry.**

"I had the same reaction." said Hermione and Dean.

**"A wizard, o'course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit.**

"And so far, you are already, 'a thumpin' good'un.'" said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling over to Harry. Sirius smiled and ruffled Harry's hair. _You got that right_ thought the shaggy haired man.

**With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter."**

"FINALLY!" yelled the crowd.

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on the Rock, The Sea. He pulled out the letter and read:**

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL **_**of**_** WITCHCRAFT **_**and**_** WIZARDRY**

**Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE**

_**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,**_

_**Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)**_

**Dear Mr. Potter,**

**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**

**Yours sincerely,**

_**Minerva McGonagall**_

**Minerva McGonagall,**

_**Deputy Headmistress.**_

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?"**

"All the questions you had, you settled for that one?" said Draco with widened eyes.

"Good choice, there was a deadline. Has to meet it." said Kingsley in his deep calm voice.

**"Galloping Gorgons, that reminds me." said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse,**

"Poor horse." said Bill with a smile.

**and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl-a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl**

"Poor owl." said Bill, trying to hide his laughter.

"Hagrid! How could you put an owl in your pocket?" said Hermione looking taken aback.

"There is a breed of owls that we wizards raise, Miss Granger, that are used for keeping in large pockets. I leant Bee boo to Hagrid for Harry's reply. He's quite used to traveling like that. Several people have small owls that are used for that fashion." said Dumbledore, smiling towards Hermione. Who looked shocked, then thoughtful.

**-a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down:**

"Now I'm very impressed, I can barely read my own writing upside down." said Lupin looking at the teen, who smiled back at him amidst the blankets and cushions.

_**Dear Professor Dumbledore,**_

_**Given Harry his letter. Taking him to buy his things tomorrow.**_

_**Weather's horrible. Hope you're well.**_

_**Hagrid.**_

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone.**

"Yes, Hermione, the owls are bred to handle any sort of weather. Minus a hurricane or tornado, of course." said Dumbledore holding a hand up, before she could even ask the question.

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly.**

**"Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon still, ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight.**

**"He's not going." he said.**

"Oh, yes he is!" chanted the Gryffindor table.

**Hagrid grunted.**

**"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said.**

**"A what?" said Harry, interested.**

**"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it' s your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."**

"An' that was what I was gettin' from jus' meetin' them." growled Hagrid, angrily remembering the scroll and what horrible truth it showed.

"We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him!

Everyone tensed up again from what had been said earlier. Sirius and Remus took a tighter hold on Harry. He was never going back, never. Never. Dumbledore paled once more.

**Wizard indeed!"**

**"You **_**knew**_**? said Harry. "You **_**knew**_** I'm a-a wizard?"**

**"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "**_**Knew**_**! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that-that **_**school**_**-and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was-a freak!**

"SHE WAS NOT A FREAK!" came a bloodcurdling scream. Harry sat straight up and vainly tried to ignore the shooting pain firing up his back. He looked around and saw Professor Snape, white with fury and his fists clenched. McGonagall had to pull him back down and began to pat his arm.

**But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"**

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.**

**"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as-as-**_**abnormal**_**-**

"If being normal is acting like you, then being abnormal is a really good thing." piped up a Hufflepuff first year. Then blushed when the school clapped and yelled in agreement.

"Well spoken, Mr. Davidson, well said." said Dumbledore kindly, clapping along with the students.

**and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"**

The clapping died in an instant. They all turned to Harry, Dumbledore leaned forward, a shocked look on his face.

"That...that...is...is how..you...you..found out...? stuttered Dumbledore.

He looked away and nodded. Dumbledore leaned back in the chair clutching his chest, face contorted with extreme grief. To find out that way, was being cruel, it was inhuman, what had he done?

It took a moment for Hagrid to stop crying and finish blowing his nose, to continue with the story.

**Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!"**

**"CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not known' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!"**

**"But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently.**

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious.**

**"I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh,**

"So you knew there would be trouble, did you?" said Lupin in a rough whisper. His angered face, however, was broken. Dumbledore was still clutching his chest and his eyes closed. His mind hadn't strayed or moved on from the moment Harry learned the truth about his parents. Lupin looked away, he'll have a word with the man, later.

**how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don't know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh-but someone's gotta-yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'."**

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys.**

**"Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh-mind, I can't tell yeh everything', it's a great myst'ry parts of it..."**

People leaned in forward, they didn't want to miss a moment of this.

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose with-with a person called-but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows-"**

**"Who?"**

**"Well-I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."**

**"Why not?"**

**"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared, Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went...bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was..."**

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out.**

**"Could you write it down?" Harry suggested.**

**"Nah-can't spell it. All right-**_**Voldemort**_**." Hagrid shuddered.**

A twitch went through the school.

**"Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this-this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin fer followers. Got 'em too-some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches...terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course some stood up to him-an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway.**

"He wouldn't dare." said McGonagall with pride. The rest of the school nodded in agreement, even Fudge couldn't begrudge that truth.

**"Now yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizards as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before...probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.**

**"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em...maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago.**

"I swear, Halloween is cursed." muttered Ron darkly, Hermione nodded. Harry was staring at the headmaster intently. His demeanor didn't change.

**You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an'-an'-"**

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn.**

Hagrid did a repeat performance.

**"Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad-knew yer mum an' dad an' nicer people yeh couldn't find-anyway...**

**"You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then-an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing-he tried to kill you too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it. Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful evil curse touches yeh-took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even-but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age-the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts-**

The families of the aforementioned bowed their heads in remembrance. It was so long ago, but the pain could still be felt in their hearts.

**an' you was only a baby, an' you lived."**

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before-and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh.**

Flitwick and McGonagall paled while the rest of the school shivered.

**Hagrid was watching him sadly.**

**"Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot..."**

**"Load of old tosh." said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there.**

As did some of the students

**Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched.**

**"Now, listen here, boy." he snarled. "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured-**

"Hagird would kick your ass if you even tried!" bellowed Dean.

**and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdoes, no denying it,**

A few adults' fists clenched.

**and the world's better off without them in my opinion-**

Sirius and Remus snarled and fists tensed on the blankets.

**asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types-just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end-"**

"Don't bother leaving gentlemen." said Madame Bones, grinning evilly from where she was sitting.

"WE'RE GONNA HUNT THEM DOWN AND MAKE THEM PAY, FOR SAYING! WORSE STILL! THEY SAID IT IN FRONT OF HARRY! bellowed Sirius as he and Remus reached the door.

"They are in custody at the Ministry. Awaiting trial of child abuse." she said keeping the same smirk on her face. They slowly came back, breathing shallower. Harry was leaning over the side, trying to look into Dumbledore's face, which still hadn't moved. They picked him gently and draped him across their laps once more.

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella form inside his coat. Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley-I'm warning you-one more word..."**

"Come on, Dursley! Say one more word!" egged on some of the Slytherins.

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent.**

**"That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor.**

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them. "But what happened to Vol-, sorry-I mean, You-Know-Who?"**

**"Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see...he was gettin' more an' more powerful-why'd he go?**

**"Some say he died.**

"HE HAS DIED! These books will prove it." thundered Fudge.

"HE'S BACK!" These books will prove it." bellowed back Harry, not looking at him, but still staring at the Headmaster.

**Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if had enough human left in him to die. Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it.**

"I don' believe that no more. I believe ya 'Arry." said Hagrid, speaking as if that should eradicate any doubt.

**People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back.**

**"Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on-**_**I**_** dunno what it was, no one does-but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

The students were a little disappointed, they didn't learn anything new, except, perhaps HE was back. The way Harry bellowed back to the Minister. If he WAS back, what were they going to do?

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake.**

"No mistake, Potter." Moody said, gruffly. Harry wasn't listening.

**A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied and beaten by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard?**

Growls came from the large group, but then turned to cheers.

**If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football?**

And the growls came back in full force.

**"Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard."**

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled.**

**"Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?"**

**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it...every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry...chased by Dudley's gangs, he had somehow found himself out of their reach...**

"The running part isn't magical, the flying part is though." muttered Ron to Hermione.

**dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow...**

"Potter hair! No stopping it!" said Sirius, fondly messing up the hair, his face fell as he followed Harry's gaze. Dumbledore was paler now.

**and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him?**

"Boy, did I phrase that wrong." muttered Harry, still looking at Dumbledore. Something was wrong, very wrong.

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him.**

**"See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard-you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight.**

**"Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it.**

"Bull." snarled Tonks.

**I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish-spell books and wands and-"**

**"If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him." growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born.**

"I wrote the name down myself." said Flitwick proudly.

**He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had, Albus Dumbled-"**

**"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon.**

"This won't go well," said Fred.

"Not...at...all." whistled George.

**But he had finally gone too far, Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER-" he thundered, "-INSULT-ALBUS-DUMBLEDORE-IN-FRONT-OF-ME!"**

**He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley-**

"Wha' happened! Wha' happened!" yelled the twins excitedly.

"If you let the poor man finish, he'll tell you!" said Hermione shrilly. She was waiting to hear what happened as well.

**there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain.**

People started to stand up, they were really interested now. What exactly happened? Whatever it was, Dudley deserved it and more.

**When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers.**

"YES!" screamed everyone in the Hall. They danced in place, hugged each other, and every student ran up to Hagrid and shook him firmly by the hand. Malfoy shook Hagrid's hand twice.

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them.**

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard.**

**"Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully,**

"Should have done it sooner." bellowed Malfoy.

**"but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do."**

"Right on!" cheered Ron.

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows.**

**"Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts,"**

"And he never did!" said Hermione with a fake pout.

**he said. "I'm-er-not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff-on o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job-"**

**"Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry.**

**"Oh, well-I was at Hogwarts meself but I-er-got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year.**

"Yes, well, you were proven innocent Hagrid." said Ron.

"Innocent of what?" asked Lupin, not noticing that Harry and Sirius were looking at Dumbledore and their eyes never strayed.

"You'll find out later." said Ron with a mysterious smile.

"Goody." he said leaning back in the bowl

**They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore."**

**"Why were you expelled?"**

"He'll never tell, we've tried." said Fred and George bitterly.

**"It's getting late we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagird loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."**

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry.**

**"You can kip under that," he said. "Don't mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets."**

"Well at least he gave you something warmer to sleep under then that ragged old blanket, but he could keep the doo..."

"DUMBLEDORE!" screamed Harry.

Everyone turned quickly and saw the Headmaster, he was standing but he fell to the ground with great crash.

Harry, ignoring the unyielding pain, he flung himself to the floor and turned the old man over. His face was pale and his breathing, which was heavily labored just a moment before, had ceased.

Overhead, clouds were gathering and lightning was striking in sprastic points. Then, empty chairs, the torches and paintings started flying madly around the room. Madame Pomfrey came running over to the fallen man, she waved her wand over him, but the magic rebounded and knocked her off her feet.

"I can't use magic!" she shrieked. "His aura is going haywire."

Snape rushed over and whipped out a potion, but the glass shattered in his hand, sending shrapnel into his own hand. Snape sent out a cry.

"Not even my potions are working!" he bellowed over to her.

"He's suffering from a heart attack!" yelled Lupin, "We've got to do something, if not, he's done for!"

Harry placed two hands on Dumbledore's chest, right above his heart and pushed down forcefully, in quick succession. Then he placed his mouth of top the old man's and breathed down, he made sure the man didn't have anything lodged in his throat, before he started the compressions. Once he was done breathing down, he continued the chest compressions.

Nobody could move, they were in shock. Magic was useless here now, Dumbledore was gone, he had to be. They wanted to pull Harry back, but what he was doing, not a lot of them knew what he was doing. They weren't sure if Harry was beating him up in a fit of grief and kissing him, or what. Only the muggleborns and half-bloods recognized it and they stayed back. It looked like Harry knew what he was doing.

Harry looked up into the sky from doing the chest compressions. He was losing, he was losing Dumbledore, if only he had something, defibulator, anything! Harry looked at the lightning, that was it! He would have to time it right, he took a long piece of wire from his knapsack, he had an assortment of things in his bag. Ron was the only person alive that knew he carried that bag on his person at all times. He put a yellow pair of gloves on and he then pulled his custom kitchen knife out of his pocket. He tied one end of the wire to the knife and tossed it into the air, taking the other end of the wire and holding it a small ways away from Dumbledore's heart. Lightning struck the metal knife, traveled down the wire and split into two different directions, one path went down to Dumbledore. Which caused his body to jolt, and made everyone else cringe. The other surge of electricity tried to travel into Harry, but was nullified by the rubber gloves on his hands. Harry took off a glove and felt for a pulse, nothing.

Harry pulled the knife back, which landed a ways away and tossed it again. Once again, the power shot into Dumbledore, and again his body jumped on its own. Again he checked, and again he had to toss the knife in the air. Harry checked once more, he felt nothing. Then...he felt a tiny thump, then another. Dumbledore's heart was starting to fight back! The storm subsided and the chairs fell to a crash in the Hall. Harry sat back, leaning against the bowl. sweat pouring from his forehead and tears, that were from grief but they were now tears of relief, falling down. He smiled over to the Potion's Master and the school Healer, who were staring in amazement, and pointed weakly to Dumbledore.

"Your turn."


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning, Dumbledore slowly made his way down to the Great Hall, it took some doing to get Madam Pomfrey to even allow him out of the hospital wing. She said something about that the books were more trouble than they were worth. She would've escorted Dumbledore down to breakfast, but she had to gather potions together, just in case someone else had need of them. Though Dumbledore highly doubted she meant to use them on anyone else.

After he saw the Great Hall swirl in front of his eyes, he couldn't recollect anything after that. He now knew just how frustrated Harry must feel, not being able to remember what had happened after a certain part. He could, however, remember what had sent him sprawling to the floor. He clutched his heart in remembrance of the pain, learning the awful truth in that fashion, with those words, how could Harry even stand it? Then Madam Pomfrey's words came screaming through his mind. He reached into his cloak and took a sip of a Calming Draught. This was the condition he had to agree to, in order to leave the Healer's care. He had to take several vials of the potion with him everywhere, until the books were done.

He entered the Great Hall and smiled as he strode forward into his favorite part of the castle. So many happy memories and so far, only two bad recollections associated with this great room. People were sitting in the random chairs once more, and enjoying their breakfasts. When they looked up and saw Dumbledore, who was looking just as well as he normally did, they all smiled and gave a loud cheer.

Harry was walking back towards the bowl with a large plate of food stopped and stared at the Headmaster who had just walked in. Harry grinned broadly. "Good morning, sir! Want some breakfast?" said Harry holding out his own plate without hesitation.

Dumbledore was taken aback by this, not because Harry was offering him his food, if it had had been his friend Ron though, it would gave him another heart attack. It was the manner in which he acted, Minerva had told him last night when he awoke that Harry had saved his life and the manner in which he did it. Any normal person would be bragging to the rooftops, or looking superior to the man in which he saved. Harry was carrying on, as if nothing were different between them. Just a student and a teacher, a grandson to his grandfather. It took Dumbledore a while to send Harry a smile in return, he walked towards Harry and embraced him.

"Thank you, Harry. Thank you, for saving this evil old man." said Dumbledore sadly when they broke apart. Harry looked at him shocked.

"You're not evil, sir! Why do you say that?"

"I placed you in a home, though I had no notion at the time just how bad, that in no way could be labeled habitable for you. I kept you there, despite all the signs of unhappiness, and obvious malnutrition, I kept you there. I ignored your needs and wants for a loving family, I choose to keep you protected from dark wizards, but left you to fend for yourself, defenseless, to deal with human monsters devoid of magic.

"I've placed challenges in your path, while you were here, in order to prepare you for the troubles ahead, and almost killing you in every one of those. I promise to you Harry, I will do that no more. You will never see the Dursleys again, unless you wish to travel to their hearing. You will not be forced into a dangerous situation, without me there to protect you. I will train you personally, the way I should have done to start with. Oh, Harry, I do believe that I myself am the cruelest person you could possibly ever, know!" Dumbledore lamented.

Harry smiled sadly. "Sir, you're not evil, and you aren't the cruelest person I know. I didn't let anyone know about what the Dursleys did to me, not even Ron and Hermione.."

"Harry, I am an expert Legimens, I could see into your mind, I didn't even look!" cried Dumbledore, wringing his hands. This was a side of Dumbledore no one had ever seen. Harry reached into Dumbledore's cloak and handed him the vial of Calming Draught. Dumbledore stared at Harry, how did he know that was there? Harry saw his bewildered look and smiled.

"Who do you think gave Madam Pomfrey the idea to keep those with you? Now, to get back on track, I let you see what I want you to see in my mind, the same goes for Professor Snape. I don't know occlumency, but I do know how to arrange my thoughts so that I lay down the cards I want down. The unhappiness I can deal with on my own, it just makes Hogwarts more of a special place for me. Malnutrition, well, I'm still alive, and I get my fill here every day. I put on enough weight and keep it on to keep me safe during the summer.

"I can handle muggles no problem without magic, my knapsack sees to that." he said bringing the small bag out for Dumbledore to see. "I went headlong into those challenges on my own. I could've thrown up my hands and said 'Screw it, I can't do this, I won't do this' but I chose to follow the path you laid. Me almost getting killed a time or two was my own fault, not yours. And I won't have anyone, ANYONE," said Harry, looking at Mrs. Weasley sternly. "say otherwise." said Harry, quite plainly. Dumbledore stood in shock. Harry had to nudge the vial towards Dumbledore's lips, and waited till he finished sipping it.

"You must be getting better, Harry! You haven't talked like that for a while." said Ron with a grin. Harry thought a moment, and then smiled once more.

"I must be getting better, my mind is back on track like it should be. Still can't remember what happened though, it'll come I think, in time and my back still hurts like a son of a banshee. Though I think, with my actions yesterday, I think the secret of my mentality are out. I'm happy though, the books were being real nice about not showing what was going on in my head as well as the 'watered-down' thoughts. Hope it keeps it up."

"so I guess, we can't treat you like a kid anymore, huh?" said Sirius, trying very hard to hide his cheerlessness.

"I was actually going to ask you to keep it up, I missed out on your affection, and I fear you'll start going batty if I didn't let you 'vent' some of that paternal instinct you're trying to utilize, that way, you don't smother me during the summer break." Harry smiled. Both Sirius and Remus could hardly contain their joy.

It was true, they wanted to show Harry that the both of them could be excellent guardians and wanted to make up for lost time, even if it means treating him like a child. What made it even better, was that Harry was giving them the go ahead to continue treating him like a juvenile. Harry would never tell them that by having them act in an overly-paternal way, instead of having them treat him like the young adult he was, they wouldn't feel the guilt that they missed out on so much. Also, Harry liked this attention. It was nice, made him feel loved, and protected.

After breakfast and everyone huddled into their chairs, Harry transfigured a foot rest for Dumbledore and took another flask of the Draught and laid it beside him on a small cherry-table. "Take it when you need it, don't make me come over here and pour it down your throat. Cause I will." he said, wincing slightly as he slowly sat down. Sirius dragged him softy back over to him and Remus brought his legs up so they laid acrossed his lap once again.

"Who wants ter read?" asked Hagrid, who picked up the book that laid beside his giant chair.

"May I, sir?" asked Hermione, looking towards Dumbledore. Umbridge sat up in her pink, kitten patterned chair and hissed towards her.

"This is an official reading! Miss Granger, we've already enough time with everyone commenting and yesterday afternoons...occurrence." she glared over to Dumbledore and Harry. Dumbledore smiled over to her and Harry waved innocently.

"Just let her read, Delores, what harm is there?" asked Madam Bones.

"She could skip over something important! Or alter it." said Umbridge angrily

"Not possible, the books are protected against someone skipping ahead, or failing to read something. Also one cannot add words or phrases, unless it were to get to a greater sense of truth. Harry's brilliance may or may not be labeled here. We won't know, till we read. Go ahead Miss Granger." said Dumbledore kindly.

Hermione ran over to Hagrid and accepted the book.

**Diagon Alley**

"This should be good." said Sirius pulling Harry tighter. Harry smiled, this WAS going to be a good one.

**Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight.**

"Wakey, wakey, Harry!" said both of the twins.

**"It was a dream," he told himself firmly. "I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards.**

"Quite an elaborate dream, Potter." sneered Snape.

**When I open my eyes I'll be home in my cupboard."**

"Nope, you're on a rock in the middle of the bloody ocean!" said Bill, trying to hide a smile.

"WILLIAM!" scolded Mrs. Weasley

**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.**

_**And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door,**_** Harry thought,**

"What a depressing thought." said Ron.

**his heart sinking. But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.**

** .Tap.**

**"All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up."**

**He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.**

"Still think it's a dream, Potter?" called Draco.

"If it do, longest one I've ever had." said Harry with a smile.

**Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him. He went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat.**

"I swear, those owls can smell money." said Lupin

**"Don't do that."**

**Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on the savaging the coat.**

"Vicious little feather dusters aren't they?" said Sirius looking at Harry.

**"Hagird!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl-"**

**"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.**

**"What?"**

**"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets." Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing **_**but**_** pockets-bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags...finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.**

"Reminded me of my knapsack, I have stuff that doesn't look useful to anybody, but to me, they are handy to have when you really need them."

**"Give him five Knuts." said Hagrid sleepily.**

**"Knuts?"**

"Hagrid, Harry wouldn't know what Knuts are, he just found out he was a wizard the night before!" admonished McGonagall.

"Hagrid was giving me a hands on lesson, he was teaching me what the money was." said Harry defensively. Hagrid mouthed 'Thank you.' towards him.

**"The little bronze ones."**

**Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window.**

**Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up and stretched.**

**"Best be off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."**

**Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.**

"OH, NO! MORE DEPRESSING THOUGHTS!" howled the twins, putting arms up to foreheads in a dramatic pose.

**"Um-Hagrid?"**

**"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.**

**"I haven't got any money-and you heard Uncle Vernon last night...He won't pay for me to go and learn magic."**

"Hell, it doesn't sound like he spent any money on you? Clothes, food, nothing." said Lupin.

"He paid my hospital bills." said Harry stretching slightly.

"Tell me they were check-ups." pleaded Sirius. Harry closed his eyes, refusing to answer. Sirius groaned and buried his face in his cub's hair.

**"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"**

**"But if their house was destroyed-"**

"What made you think that their money was in the house?" asked Ron.

"The Dursleys have a second financial ledger hidden away in the room I sleep in. I stumbled on it one day as I was fixing some of Dudley's old, broken toys. It labeled a whole bunch of money they were getting from someone, and in it, was a number for a bank account. I saw how much money they were hoarding away. Taking the current exchange, in galleons it would be..." it took a Harry a moment of looking up at the sky. "Three hundred and fifty-eight thousand, eight hundred and twenty-one galleons and two sickles and that was when I was thirteen."

People whistled around the hall, that was _a lot_ of money. Even Draco had his eyebrows raised and mouth hanging open.

Professor Vector's eyebrows raised in admiration and shock, how can this child do math _that _fast? Miss Granger still had to write down her figures to find out the solution. And this boy can do this in his head? He was highly impressed.

"Albus." said McGonagall, she came over and whispered viciously into his ear. "Isn't that the total amount of galleons you sent to those Muggles to care for the boy?"

Dumbledore quickly did the math in his head as well, he had sent the Dursleys child support in the form of Muggle money, easier for them to use, and his face fell. Harry's figure was dead on. That was the money Vernon was supposed to use for Harry. What was he doing, saving it like that?

"Without that account number, they wouldn't be able to get to it. Uncle Vernon came in my room one time, during my school year, and saw that I forgot to place the crease back in the book cover it was hiding in. I haven't seen the book since." said Harry, not really caring what the money was supposed to be for.

**"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold-an' I wouldn't say no the a bit o' yer birthday cake neither."**

**"Wizards have **_**banks**_**?"**

**"Just the one, Gringotts. Run by goblins."**

**Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding.**

**"**_**Goblins?**_**"**

**"Yeah-so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe-'cept maybe Hogwarts.**

"Don't know about that." said Harry whispered mysteriously.

"Don't know about what?" whispered back Sirius, Lupin leaned in to hear.

"I've come up with about twenty-two different ways of breaking into Gringotts."

"Don't...even...try...it..." growled Sirius, though a small smile played acrossed his face.

"Why would you come up with ideas like that?" asked Remus stunned.

"Was the only exercise my brain got." said Harry with a shrug.

**As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you-gettin' things from Gringotts-knows he can trust me, see.**

"I wouldn't trust you to take out the garbage." spat Umbridge. Hagrid didn't look hurt, he knew, whatever she said, most of the school disagreed with her. And he was right. Growls and yells could be heard quite clearly.

"That is where you differ from me and the rest of the staff here at Hogwarts. And I fear, that isn't the only difference." said Dumbledore with a cryptic smile.

**"Got everythin'? Come on, then."**

**Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.**

**"How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat.**

**"Flew," said Hagrid.**

**"**_**Flew**_**?"**

**"Yeah-but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."**

**They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.**

"How did you do it, Hagrid?" squeaked a small Hufflepuff girl.

"Was it my bike again Hagrid?" said Sirius with a cunning smile.

"Yep, it was. Once I got ter 'arry I sent it back." said Hagrid with smile.

**"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another one of his sideways looks. "If I was ter-er-speed things up an bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"**

"Whatever you did, he certainly didn't tell us." said Hermione, glaring at Harry.

"I keep my word, I never go back on it. Promises are very important to me." said Harry defensively.

Hermione's face fell in guilt she herself broke some promises, not to Harry and Ron though, Dumbledore's, Lupin's and Sirius's faces however, all lit up. He was very much like his mother, however, she would bend her promises sometimes.

**"Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.**

"You weren't supposed to use magic! You were expelled!" screeched Umbridge gleefully.

"Delores, he was found innocent years ago! Try to keep up with the times, for heaven's sake!" groaned Madam Bones.

**"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked.**

**"Spells-enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the high-security vaults.**

"There'd better not be, Bill." growled Charlie towards his older brother.

Bill raised his hands, "Hey I don't have anything to do with that aspect of the bank. Take it up with the goblins."

They all waited till Charlie and a few Care of Magical Creature enthusiasts finished ranting and planning a revolt on behalf of the dragons, so they could continue.

**And then yeh gotta find yer way-Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."**

**Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper,**

"How many ways did you plan out to rob the bank then?" asked Lupin quietly.

"Two, and even after I visited the bank and learned the geography, they both would work."

Lupin groaned.

**the **_**Daily Prophet.**_** Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life.**

"Ya could've asked anythin yer liked 'arry I wouldn't ta minded." said Hagrid, a little ashamed that he ignored Harry.

**"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.**

"WE DON'T MESS THINGS UP!" bellowed Umbridge and Fudge.

"You've got two people here, who are testimony to the fact that the ministry screwed up royally!" yelled Harry right back. He pointed to Sirius and Hagrid.

**"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself.**

**"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one.**

"I'M NOT A BUNGLER!" yelled Fudge, not nearly as loud as before.

"HE MOST CERTAINLY IS NOT!" screeched Umbridge.

"Delores, Cornelius, I think that it goes without saying that we, the Ministry made some very weighty mistakes. Drop it." said Madam Bones.

**So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice. "**

"Now, Hagrid, it's not every morning." chided George playfully.

"It's every quarter hour." finished Fred.

The Minister and his Senior Undersecretary scowled at them. _I'll get them, once I'm done with Potter, I'll get them._ thought Umbridge savagely.

**"But what does a Ministry of Magic **_**do**_**?"**

"Nothing much." piped up a fifth year Ravenclaw. Fudge and Umbridge glared at her. Madam Bones had had enough.

"Honestly, you two are worse than children, getting angry at every little thing. Merlin, Potter has had insults thrown to him, and he slings them right back, or he simply accepts them. He's more mature then the both of you put together."

Umbridge scowled at Head of Law Enforcement. While Fudge looked slightly ashamed.

**"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."**

**"Why?"**

**"**_**Why**_**? Blimey, Harry everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."**

"Muggles are so greedy." sneered Umbridge. Some of the students, who were purebloods, nodded in agreement, they were remembering the Dursleys and the money they were hoarding.

"Wizards are just as greedy as Muggles, sometimes more so." stated Harry. "While the justice system in the wizarding world isn't always perfect, at least they, for the most part, don't have criminals make a large donation to the hospital to get off."

"WHO HAS DONE THAT MR. POTTER?" bellowed Madam Bones incredulously.

"You want a list? Give me a minute or two and I can give you a head start into an audit of some people's bank accounts." said Harry whipping out his small black book from his knapsack a spare roll of and a quill.

"There is no need Mr. Potter." simpered Umbridge. "The Minister knows all about them."

"And yet, they aren't in jail, and money for freedom is still used as a bartering tool. Right now, you didn't shed your Minister in a good light." said Harry with a raised eyebrow, still writing down names and dates, not even looking at the parchment. He turned towards Madam Bones, "I'll have the list for you...right...now." He rolled up the list and handed it to Sirius, who passed it to Madam Bones.

She unrolled it, her eyes getting larger as the list grew longer. Once she was done, she glared over to the Minister and Umbridge. Fudge shifted guiltily in his seat, however Umbridge was still snarling at Harry, who was ignoring her.

**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.**

"How did the Dursleys get back to land Harry?" asked Lee.

"Before we left the town, I stopped at the Police Station and told them that there was a family stranded out on the rock. They went and picked them up, right after Hagrid and I left. Uncle Vernon wasn't happy that I sicced the cops on them, but I didn't want to think of another plan to get them off that rock."

"You didn't _want_ to?" repeated Sirius.

"Wasn't worth my time to come up with a less conspicuous escape for them."

"That's my boy!" said Sirius ruffling Harry's hair. Lupin smiled.

**Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"**

"Hagrid." said Snape tiredly, rubbing the bridge of his hooked nose with his forefinger and thumb.

**"Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there were **_**dragons**_** at Gringotts?"**

"Was that out of curiosity or were you still planning your heist?" whispered Lupin.

"Planning a third way." said Harry with an evil grin.

"Merlin, help me." Lupin moaned, massaging his temple.

**"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."**

"Only Hagrid." said Sirius fondly. Harry, Hermione and Ron shared a small smile.

**"You'd **_**like**_** one?"**

**"Wanted one ever since I was a kid-here we go."**

**They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.**

"I don't see how people can have problems with Muggle money, the denominations are right there!" said Hermione exasperatedly.

**People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.**

"What was that for Hagrid." asked Harry.

"A blanket for Fluffy, he was gettin' the sniffles." said Hagrid.

"Who's Fluffy?" asked Charlie.

"You'll find out later." said Ron.

**"Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches. Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket.**

**"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list of everything yeh need."**

**Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read:**

**HOGWARTS SCHOOL**

_**of**_** WITCHCRAFT **_**and**_** WIZARDRY**

**UNIFORM**

**First-year students will require:**

**1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)**

"Simple yet stylish, at least compared to the Smelting's uniform." said the fashionistas of the school.

**2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear**

"I can only remember wearing it the first week." said Harry

**3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)**

They all looked at Charlie warily, he wasn't happy, but he wasn't furious.

"They harvest the dragon hide from the elderly that pass away. Their hides are considered the toughest."

**4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)**

"Harry had to order another one, to go underneath the one he already had, he kept almost freezing to death going between classes and going outside. CRAP! Sorry Harry," said Ron. Dumbledore, Mrs. Weasley, and Madam Pomfrey quickly looked towards the raven haired youth, who slapped a hand across his eyes. Sirius and Remus summoned all the blankets from yesterday. back and laid them on top of their cub. "I didn't mean say that out loud." he said meekly.

**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags**

"I remember Fred and George kept switching their name tags around in our first year." smiled Alicia.

**COURSE BOOKS**

**All students should have a copy of each of the following:**

_**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)**_

**by Miranda Goshawk**

"Actually quite handy to have on you." said Ron. Hermione's eyebrows raised in shock.

_**A History of Magic**_

**by Bathilda Bagshot**

"Ah, Harry, Ms. Bagshot would like to have a word with you soon. You and your parents used to live right next door to her. I would like to say, she would love to catch up with you, however, these books are doing it for you." said Dumbledore his eyes twinkling again.

_**Magical Theory**_

**by Adalbert Waffling**

"I disproved every theory in that damn book in my first year." muttered Harry. Lupin and Sirius looked at him in amazement.

_**A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration**_

**by Emeric Switch**

"Awesome book! Awesome class!" shouted Lee.

"No use trying to butter me up Mr. Lee." said McGonagall sternly, she however couldn't stop the sides of her mouth from twitching.

_**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi**_

**by Phyllida Spore**

"That is actually one of my favorite books." said Harry. Snape stared at him.

_**Magical Drafts and Potions**_

**by Arsenius Jigger**

"That is one of my other ones." continued Harry, Snape's jaw fell open.

_**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them**_

**by Newt Scamander**

The N.E.W.T.S Care of Magical Creature students all cheered.

_**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection**_

**by Quentin Trimble**

Umbridge was the only one to applaud the book. Everyone else booed.

A thought had just struck Harry, "Wow, that is some kind of weird and twisted fate."

"What is?" asked Hermione.

"Look at some of the names of the authors. Sir, are all names, those people's real names? The names they were born with?" asked Harry, looking at Dumbledore. He nodded.

"Well, the magical theory book: author's last name is Waffling. And that book is the biggest load of bull I've ever read, It says everything so pretty and flowing that you can hardly understand it. The word "_waffle_" when used as a verb, is to speak or write with uncertain significance. Kinda like your speeches, Umbridge." said Harry.

People were frowning at this, but then their eyebrows were rising slowly.

"The transfiguration book: last name of that author is Switch, in that class, you learn to transfigure. The synonym for the word _'transfigure' _is '_switch'!_"

Dumbledore sat there, staring at the young man, _he was right!_

"The herbology book: Phyllida Spore. Phyllidae is a noun that means leaf, insects, and the word spore? The reproductive cell of a fungus. Instead of seeds, they have _spores._

_"_The potions book: Arsenius, arsenious means containing arsenic in the trivalent state. Arsenic is arsenic trioxide a white, tasteless water-soluble, _poison. _The word Jigger can mean several things, but one meaning is to manipulate or alter, mostly for illegal purposes. A potioneer manipulates and alters the ingredients of a potion and forming it into something completely different, a solid to a liquid. Early potions were used only for illegal purposes.

"The Magical Beast book: Newt Scamander. A newt is a salamander, Scamander is the an old name for a river that flows into the Aegean Sea, which derived its name from Greek myth, which holds tales of Pegasus, and other magical beasts. Or you can manipulate the name and have it be_salamander_.

"The Defense book: Trimble, well if you switch out the '_i_' for an '_e_' you get the word _tremble_. Which is something you really shouldn't be doing when you're trying to defend yourself, but he was always known to be a coward." said Harry thoughtfully.

Dumbledore was sitting in shock during this narration. He knew now that Harry was a highly intelligent individual, but he never knew he was thisstaggeringly brilliant.

"This is some twisted kind of fate. For all those people to write books, and their names to be that, naturally. Boggles my flipping mind"

Sirius and Remus stared at him, then each other. Where the hell did Harry learn all this stuff? And just how much is he holding back?

**"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.**

**"If yeh know where to go, " said Hagrid.**

**Harry had never been to London before.**

"Really? You've never been to London, before this?" asked Neville.

"Nope, every time the Dursley's would go to London, I would be left behind at Mrs. Figgs." said Harry with a smile. "But since then, I had been to London several times."

**Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.**

**"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.**

**Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks?**

"I couldn't believe it either, Harry." said Hermione

**Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?**

"Hell, not even we would pull that kind of a prank." said George, shocked.

"We may be nutters, but we have standards." said Fred with dignity.

**If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him.**

Hagrid seemed to inflate with pride. Harry had trusted Hagrid, despite almost all the adults in his life letting him down. Harry chose to trust him!

**"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."**

**It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it.**

"You had a _feeling_, Potter?" asked Moody gruffly.

Harry nodded and Dumbledore and Moody exchange a significant glance.

**Before he could mention this, Hagrid steered him inside.**

**For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry.**

"Harry, how did you know that was sherry?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Not only am I the cook at the Dursleys', I'm also the waiter. I know what drink goes best with what" he said simply.

"That would imply that you've taken a drink of something a little stronger than butterbeer a time or two." said Remus warningly.

"Shh! Don't tell Uncle Vernon, he couldn't figure out who took a sip of his wine two years ago." said Harry with a mischievous smile.

"HAROLD JAMES POTTER! YOU ARE TOO YOUNG TO DRINK!" reproached Madam Pomfrey.

Harry just gave a sheepish grin. "I know I am, I only took a sip. Of each."

"How many were there?" said Lupin in the same tone as before.

"Thirty-nine, NOT ALL IN ONE DAY! IT WAS OVER THE COURSE OF A FEW MONTHS!" said Harry defensively when he saw the look on Mrs. Weasley's face. "The last time I screwed up on the wine choice, they didn't let me cook for three weeks; I wanted to make sure that, that mistake never happened again!"

**One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual Hagrid?"**

"You'd better not drink in front of him, though he's already had quite a few." growled Mrs. Weasley. Her tone changed when he saw the hurt and insulted look on Harry's face. "Sorry dear, I didn't mean..." Harry turned his head away from her quickly. He covered his face up with the phoenix quilt and motioned to Hermione to continue.

Hermione sent Mrs. Weasley a furious look, as did most of the adults in the room, before she continued.

**"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle.**

"Sorry 'arry." mumbled Hagrid.

**"Good Lord, " said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this-can this be-?"**

**The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.**

"That has never happened before, that I can remember." said Lupin with his eyebrows raised.

**"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter...what an honor."**

**He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes.**

**"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back, welcome back."**

**Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.**

**Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.**

"Bet you just loved that, didn't you Potter?" smirked Umbridge.

"Actually, he hates it. He'd rather go unnoticed." said Draco absently.

All the students, as well as all the teachers turned to look at him, with widened eyes.

"What?"

"You accuse him of liking attention every day!" said Cho.

"I was bullying him! I know he hates it!" said Draco waving his hand.

"I do, I really do hate it." muttered Harry from under the blankets, "The bullying I'm used to, I used to just sit an' take it, now I fight back. Lot of fun actually." said Harry looking over the blankets and smirking over to Draco.

**"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."**

**"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."**

**"Always wanted to shake your hand-I'm all of a flutter."**

**"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."**

Dedalus sat up straighter in his chair. A part of him felt ashamed that he was fawning over Harry, now that he knew he didn't like being stared at, but he couldn't help but feel a small twinge of pride.

**"I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."**

**"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!"**

**Harry shook hands again and again-Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.**

**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes were twitching.**

Harry and Ron muttered something, "Watch your language, boys." said Lupin.

**"Professor Quirrell" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."**

"He was the best teacher this school had, till I came around." said Umbridge, leaning back in her pink chair.

"Yeah, best of the worst." said Harry loudly. Students tried to hide their laughter, but for the most part were unsuccessful. Umbridge had a permanent scowl on her face.

**"P-P-Potter." stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you."**

"I'll just bet you are." muttered Harry darkly.

**What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"**

**"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.**

"Ruddy coward." growled Moody.

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.**

**"Must get on-lots ter buy. Come on, Harry."**

"If anyone else had been there, I don't think they would have stopped. Hagrid could have just swung his arm and knock them all out." said Tonks with a cheery smile.

**Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.**

**Hagrid grinned at Harry.**

**"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh-mind you, he's usually tremblin'."**

"Perfect for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position then." said Kingsley rolling his eyes.

**"Is he always that nervous?"**

**"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience...They say he met vampires in the Black Forest,**

"Wasn't a vampire." snarled Ron.

**and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag-never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject-now, where's me umbrella?"**

**Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming, Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.**

"Wasn't too sure I wanted to become a wizard after that. I didn't really want to meet up with one of them right then and there." said Harry with a laugh.

"Can you imagine if Harry had not come to school?" muttered Hermione.

"Be a living hell." said Ron shaking his head.

"We'd be dead." said Neville.

**"Three up...two across..." he muttered. "Right, stand back Harry."**

**He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.**

**The brick he had touched quivered-it wriggled-in the middle, a small hole appeared-it grew wider and wider-a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.**

**"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."**

**He grinned at Harry's amazement.**

"The look on yer face was priceless." said Hagrid.

**They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.**

**The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons-All Sizes-Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver-Self-Stirring**

"I remember one time when we were our first year, James jinxed one of the self-stirring cauldrons in the potions classroom, Sirius took a hold of it and was spun around and around like a top. Went crashing into the wall. Funniest thing I have ever seen in my life!" said Lupin fondly.

"Glad I could amuse you." Sirius rubbed his ribs, thinking about the prank.

**-Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.**

**"Yeah, you'll be needin' one, " said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first.'**

**Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying. "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad..."**

"Not really, we petitioned laws so that they couldn't take too many livers from too many dragons. They get a set amount every year. We're fighting to have it lowered even more." said Charlie with a pleased tone.

**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium-Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy.**

Out of the blue, came the rush of wings and a snowy owl landed on Harry's stomach.

"Hey Hedwig," said Harry, stroking her feathers. Several girls sighed and cooed.

"Your owl is the most beautiful owl here." said Lavender longingly. Hedwig puffed out her feathered chest proudly.

"No, in the whole world." said Harry fondly.

Sirius stroked her feathers as well. "Smart as a whip, too."

**Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand-fastest ever-"**

Harry let his mind wander, his first broom. He gave a great sigh, and smiled. Remembering the rushing of air underneath his knees and through his hair. God, he missed flying. He was going to have to get his Firebolt back somehow.

**There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instrumentals Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...**

**"Gringotts," said Hagrid.**

**They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was-**

**"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:**

_**Enter, stranger, but take heed,**_

_**Of what awaits the sin of greed,**_

_**For those who take, but do not earn,**_

_**Must pay most dearly in their turn.**_

_**So if you seek beneath our floors**_

_**A treasure that was never yours,**_

_**Thief, you have been warned, beware**_

_**Of finding more than treasure there.**_

**"Like I said, yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.**

"Take the hint." whispered Lupin, tugging on Harry's pants leg.

**A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in a large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter.**

**"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe."**

**"You have his key, sir?"**

**"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid,**

"How did Hagrid get ahold of Harry's key?" asked Sirius.

"The key was in my possession for safe keeping. I couldn't possibly give it to the Dursleys to hold onto for safe keeping. When Harry was to go to London, I gave the key to Hagrid, and then the key was to be given to Harry, as it was his property." said Dumbledore.

**and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers.**

"Oooh, bad move, they will not be very happy with that. They like to keep things tidy, goblins." winced Bill.

**The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.**

**"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.**

**The goblin looked at it closely.**

**"That seems to be in order."**

**"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's all about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."**

"You had to say that in front the most inquisitive boy Hogwarts will ever know?" said McGonagall with a small smile.

**The goblin read the letter carefully.**

**"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"**

**Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.**

**"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.**

"And so it begins." said Harry, Hermione and Ron all together. Nobody except for a Majority of the staff and the some of the fifth years and up knew what they were talking about.

**"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."**

**Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks towards them. They climbed in-Hagrid with some difficulty-and were off.**

"Those carts are awesome!" yelled Harry and a few Quidditch players.

"Why in the heck do you say that?" asked Ernie with a shocked look on his face.

"It's a speed flying thing." said Harry with a shrug.

"You're a nutter." said Sirius shaking his head and tugging his hair lightly.

**At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible.**

"Left, right, right, left, middle fork, right left, right fork, left, right, middle fork, down spiral, straight fork, right, right, left and left." said Harry quietly.

The hall went quiet.

"Memorized it on the way out." said Harry shrugging.

**The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.**

"That was a little unnerving." said Harry.

**Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon,**

"Bill..." growled Charlie.

"BRO, I DON"T KNOW!" yelled Bill.

**but too late-they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.**

**"I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**

"Didn't you know at the time?" asked Hermione.

"Making conversation. Hagrid was real quiet." said Harry.

**"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."**

"If I had noticed that, I never would have bothered you Hagrid, sorry." called Harry to Hagrid.

**He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.**

"I offered him some gingerbread that I had baked from my knapsack. It was the last thing I baked at the Dursley's."

"Harry, he was about to be sick!" said Lupin with a stunned look.

"Ginger settles your stomach and makes it so you don't throw up." stated Harry.

Lupin thought a moment, looked to Madam Pomfrey, who appeared impressed and said "Oh."

"Wish I took it, especially if ya made it." said Hagrid sheepishly.

"It was alright." said Harry grinning.

**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.**

**"All yours," smiled Hagrid.**

**All Harry's- it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster blinking.**

People snarled at the memory of the Dursleys.

**How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep?**

"There was nothing that they paid for!" yelled Hermione looking up from the book.

**And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London.**

"That's just your school fund. Your complete vault is way down below that one. Your dad was the richest man in the world, now you are." whispered Sirius. Harry's eyes opened wide in shock.

**Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag.**

**"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"**

**"One speed only," said Griphook.**

"Right on!" said Harry, the school players all cheered loudly. Others looked at them and shook their heads. Athletes are insane.

**They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.**

"Thanks Hagird." said Lupin as Sirius absent-mindedly rubbed the Harry's neck.

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.**

**"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.**

"Can't get in there to rob it now can you?" said Sirius into Harry's ear.

"Actually..."

"Never mind."

**"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.**

**"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.**

**"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.**

"How come I feel that you are asking this, so you know what could happen if you touch the door?" said Lupin warningly but his mouth twitched when Harry sent a cheeky grin towards the werewolf.

**Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least-**

As did the most of the students in the Hall.

**but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor.**

"Well, that was a huge letdown." said Bill.

**Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.**

"Only restraint Potter has ever shown." sneered Snape.

**"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.**

**One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life-more money than even Dudley had ever had.**

**"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick,**

"Hagrid couldn't it of waited." admonished Mrs. Weasley.

"Leave him alone!" yelled Harry. Mrs. Weasley looked shocked, as did the rest of the Weasley children.

Sirius pulled Harry closer to him. "Molly I remember those carts, I would want a stiff drink too. Leave Hagrid alone." he said sternly.

Mrs. Weasley looked down, a little hurt.

**so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.**

**Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.**

"What the hell is mauve?" asked Charlie.

"A light blue-purple mix." said Harry.

"How do you know what mauve is?" said Ron eyebrows raised far into his hairline.

"Aunt Petunia and her fashion conscious lifestyle." muttered Harry darkly.

**"Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here-another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."**

**In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes.**

Draco paled, _oh shit!_ he thought.

**Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him, slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.**

**"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"**

**"Yes," said Harry.**

**"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."**

Draco slowly sank into the chair he was sitting.

**Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley.**

"OOOHHH!" said the twins. "BURN!"

**"Have **_**you**_** got your own broom?" the boy went on.**

**"No," said Harry.**

**"Play Quidditch at all?"**

**"No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.**

The Gryffindor team couldn't help but smile. Harry was such a natural that he became a Quidditch star the first game.

**"**_**I**_** do-Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my House, and I must say, I agree. Know what House you'll be in yet?"**

**"No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.**

**"Well no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been-imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"**

The Hufflepuffs in the Hall, including Tonks, Professor Sprout and Madam Bones turned and looked at Malfoy severely.

"Sorry..." said Malfoy quietly.

**"Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.**

**"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.**

"That was very kind of you Hagrid." said Dumbledore with his eyes twinkling.

Hagrid blushed, "He didn't have much breakfast."

**"That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."**

**"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"**

Growls rippled through three of the four houses.

**"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second.**

**"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of **_**savage**_**-lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."**

"I think an apology would be appropriate right now, Draco." said Snape from his serpentine chair.

"I concur." said Dumbledore, the twinkle absent from his eyes.

"I'm sorry." said Draco, looking down and meaning it.

**"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.**

**"**_**Do**_** you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"**

**"They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.**

**"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all.**

Sirius and Remus snarled a little bit.

"Wasn't then, am now." said Draco quietly.

**"But they were **_**our**_** kind, weren't they?"**

**"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."**

**"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families.**

The Muggleborns in the Hall sent an angry look towards Draco.

"I agree with Mr. Malfoy, this school should only be kept in the family of purebloods." said Umbridge nastily. The whole school stared at her in shock. Even the Minister sat with his mouth agape at her. Dumbledore sent her a rare scowl.

"You remove the Muggleborns, the magic will be stripped from this place." said Harry calmly.

"You don't know what you are talking about Mr. Potter." simpered the toad like Professor.

Harry sighed and took his little notebook out quickly, flipping to a single page. "The magic that we use doesn't come from our magical heritage or our wands, but the _spiritual_ core that all living things have. There are two cores in a living being, the spiritual core and the essence core. For some reason, Healers refer to this as a magical core, which is completely incorrect. It could mean both of them, but Healers only notice the spiritual core. A person is labeled a witch or wizard when their spiritual core is stronger than normal. A strong core can be passed down in the line of a family, but that doesn't always guarantee that a person will possess the necessary power to wield it.

"The essence core is the core that alerts us to different types of magic, and the power to absorb and contain spare power. This school is pure magic, and it gives off a strong pulse of magic. Purebloods, due to excessive inbreeding, have inadvertently narrowed the path that the magic flows through. The school would choke itself off, in other words, die. When the school dies, so does the magic that holds the school together. Paintings will cease to move, the staircases will freeze, ghosts will be forced to fade, wands and potions will be useless and the forest will die. With muggleborns and half-bloods, the school has a healthy supply of containers to receive and store their magic. The purebloods here have had their essence cores choked off so bad that they don't take any magic into themselves at all. Sad really." said Harry slowly closing his notebook.

The school stared at him and then turned slowly towards the Unspeakables that were present. They were staring at him as well.

"He's right, he's absolutely right. Boy ever thought of being an Unspeakable?"

Harry chuckled and shook his head, no.

**What's your surname, anyways?"**

"What's it to you?" said a second year Gryffindor, recovering from the shock of Harry's release of information.

**But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.**

**"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose, " said the drawling boy.**

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).**

"That's your favorite." said Hermione. Hagrid looked surprised, then his face broke into a smile.

"I get it every chance I can." said Harry with a dreamy smile.

**"What's up" said Hagrid.**

**"Nothing," Harry lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote.**

"You've never used that in class." said Hermione.

"I save it for this." he said holding up the little black book. Umbridge stared at it. She wanted that book.

**When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"**

**"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know-not knowin' about Quidditch!"**

**"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.**

**"-and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in-"**

**"Yer not **_**from**_** a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh **_**were**_**-he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles-look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"**

"An' look at 'ermione!" said Hagrid happily. Hermione blushed and continued on.

**"So what **_**is**_** Quidditch?"**

**"It's our sports. Wizard sport. It's like-like soccer in the Muggle world-everyone follows Quidditch-played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls-sorta hard ter explain the rules."**

**"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"**

**"School Houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but-"**

Tonks looked insulted. Hagrid looked unashamed. "I wasn' finished. I was gonna say 'but they're a good lot.'"

Tonks smiled in approval.

**"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry gloomily.**

"Nothing wrong with that and we would have been glad to have you." said Madam Bones

**"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin." said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin.**

"I know two off the bat that weren't in Slytherin, but you didn't know that at the time, Hagrid." said Harry kindly.

**You-Know-Who was one."**

**"Vol-, sorry-You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"**

**"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.**

**They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of a postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from **_**Curses and Counter-curses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More) **_**by Professor Vindictus Viridian.**

"He didn't 'almost drag' me," said Harry defensively "He had to pick me up, toss me over his shoulder and carry me away from the book." The school laughed at the mental image.

**"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."**

"WE'LL HELP!" yelled the students.

**"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid.**

"And if you need to save your life, the Ministry will try to expel you." said Hermione viciously.

**"An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."**

**Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"),**

"I bought it two years later." said Harry with a slick smile.

**but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for it's horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).**

Snape stirred guiltily in his chair, Potter was interested in Potions._Damn, sorry Lily._

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again.**

**"Just yer wand left-oh yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."**

"You're so nice Hagrid." said Luna dreamily. Hagrid blushed.

**Harry felt himself go red.**

**"You don't have to-"**

"You deserve it, what did he get you anyway?" said Lupin curiously.

"You'll find out soon." said Harry, stoking Hedwig's feathers, who was now on a perch in front of the bowl.

**"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at-**

"Sorry Neville." said Hagrid shamefully.

Neville just smiled. "It's okay."

**an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze.**

Hermione blushed, all the times she brought Crookshanks, "Sorry Hagrid, I didn't know Crookshanks made you sneeze."

"It's alright" Hagrid smiled down to her. "He don't shed much."

**I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."**

**Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.**

"Aww! You're so sweet Harry." said twins mockingly.

"What made you choose her?" asked Parvati. Hermione and Ron sat forward in their chairs. Hagrid would always tell them this story, it was their favorite.

Harry sat up a little bit and focused most of his weight on Sirius' side. "Well, we went inside to pick out an owl when a middle-aged man brushed us aside. Mostly me, Hagrid can't be brushed by anyone. Hagrid had to catch me from falling into a box of owl pellets beside the door."

People flinched.

"Well, he was carrying a birdcage, with the most beautiful bird I'd ever seen. She was hooting and fluttering angrily, she wasn't happy, and neither was the man. He said that she was acting up and he didn't want to deal with her. The man behind the counter sighed and took the owl and gestured towards the man to pick something else. The man wanted his money back, but the shopkeeper wouldn't give it to him. Big sign said behind him 'no returns, exchanges only'. The man threw a flipping fit, he whipped out his wand and things around the store started to explode. Owls were zooming around, trying to peck at anything they could. The shopkeeper tried to repair the damage as the man continued to rant and rave. There was a black cage, tucked away in the back and the man magicked that open. The shopkeeper screamed that, that particular owl was a something like an attack dog. If anything else in that room was living, it was going to be owl food. The man laughed and left the store, before the owl could reach him."

"Hagrid tried to drag me out of the store, but I was trying to get to the Snowy owl, that the man had returned, out of the store. Cause that black owl decided that she was easy pickings and tried to get to her through the wooden bars. I looked towards the man, but his hands were busy trying to get all the other owls back into their cages. So I picked up a broom and smacked the black owl away from the Snowy, right into the wall."

The school cheered, Harry had to wait to for them to finish.

"I picked up her cage and ran to Hagrid. I was afraid that the owl would get up, and start trying to peck her again. The man finally settled down his owls and stuffed them into their cages. The man came behind the counter and threw a wicker basket down on the owl. In order to keep the basket down on the owl, he had to sit on it. He looked up to us, and did his best to make his voice sound normal, didn't work. He asked what we needed, I looked at the owl in the cage, I said this owl. He paled a little bit, told me that, she might not be the best owl for me, she was stubborn and too proud to deliver much of anything. I told him I didn't care, I wanted her. He sighed, shook his head and rang her up, with a significant discount for trying to help and getting caught up in all that, and that's how I got her." Harry said fondly.

"So you saved her?" said Dennis quickly.

"In a way, we've saved each other." said Harry quietly. Hedwig nipped his finger affectionately and rubbed her head into his hand.

**"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now-only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."**

**A magic wand...this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.**

"As does everyone." said Professor Flitwick.

**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.**

"Whose wand is that?" said Hermione interestingly.

"It was the first wand the Mr. Ollivander ever crafted." said Dumbledore.

**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.**

Albus and Alastor looked at each other again, he could sense this? Dumbledore would have to ask Harry to take a sensing test.

**"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.**

"I must have gotten there after you left, Harry, because the chair was broken when we arrived." said Seamus.

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.**

**"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.**

**"Ah, yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."**

"First wand?" asked Harry. Sirius looked down at him,

"Your mom had a bit of an accident in her third year. A Slytherin girl tried to get the best of her in a duel, your mom beat her hands down, but that little twit ran up to your mom and ripped the wand out of her hands and stamped on it."

"Sore loser." said Harry bemusedly.

"Yeah, Bellatrix always was a sore loser." said Lupin coldly.

"Bellatrix Lestrange?" said both Harry and Neville.

"Yeah, she was always jealous of your mom, your mom was prettier, more popular, better at potions, better duelist, everything. Always pissed her off." said Sirius fondly.

"When Sirius found out in our third year that Lily always managed to whip Bella in everything that had to deal with magic, he ran up to her and kissed her full on the lips."

"Bet she loved that." said Harry with a grin.

"Slapped me so hard that I flew backwards and landed on top of James." said Sirius rubbing his right cheek and chin. "I still can't smile right." The girls in the room started to giggle.

**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.**

**"Your father, on the other, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it-it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."**

**Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.**

**"But they were **_**our**_** kind, weren't they?"**

**"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."**

**"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families.**

The Muggleborns in the Hall sent an angry look towards Draco.

"I agree with Mr. Malfoy, this school should only be kept in the family of purebloods." said Umbridge nastily. The whole school stared at her in shock. Even the Minister sat with his mouth agape at her. Dumbledore sent her a rare scowl.

"You remove the Muggleborns, the magic will be stripped from this place." said Harry calmly.

"You don't know what you are talking about Mr. Potter." simpered the toad like Professor.

Harry sighed and took his little notebook out quickly, flipping to a single page. "The magic that we use doesn't come from our magical heritage or our wands, but the _spiritual_ core that all living things have. There are two cores in a living being, the spiritual core and the essence core. For some reason, Healers refer to this as a magical core, which is completely incorrect. It could mean both of them, but Healers only notice the spiritual core. A person is labeled a witch or wizard when their spiritual core is stronger than normal. A strong core can be passed down in the line of a family, but that doesn't always guarantee that a person will possess the necessary power to wield it.

"The essence core is the core that alerts us to different types of magic, and the power to absorb and contain spare power. This school is pure magic, and it gives off a strong pulse of magic. Purebloods, due to excessive inbreeding, have inadvertently narrowed the path that the magic flows through. The school would choke itself off, in other words, die. When the school dies, so does the magic that holds the school together. Paintings will cease to move, the staircases will freeze, ghosts will be forced to fade, wands and potions will be useless and the forest will die. With muggleborns and half-bloods, the school has a healthy supply of containers to receive and store their magic. The purebloods here have had their essence cores choked off so bad that they don't take any magic into themselves at all. Sad really." said Harry slowly closing his notebook.

The school stared at him and then turned slowly towards the Unspeakables that were present. They were staring at him as well.

"He's right, he's absolutely right. Boy ever thought of being an Unspeakable?"

Harry chuckled and shook his head, no.

**What's your surname, anyways?"**

"What's it to you?" said a second year Gryffindor, recovering from the shock of Harry's release of information.

**But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.**

**"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose, " said the drawling boy.**

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).**

"That's your favorite." said Hermione. Hagrid looked surprised, then his face broke into a smile.

"I get it every chance I can." said Harry with a dreamy smile.

**"What's up" said Hagrid.**

**"Nothing," Harry lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote.**

"You've never used that in class." said Hermione.

"I save it for this." he said holding up the little black book. Umbridge stared at it. She wanted that book.

**When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"**

**"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know-not knowin' about Quidditch!"**

**"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.**

**"-and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in-"**

**"Yer not **_**from**_** a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh **_**were**_**-he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles-look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"**

"An' look at 'ermione!" said Hagrid happily. Hermione blushed and continued on.

**"So what **_**is**_** Quidditch?"**

**"It's our sports. Wizard sport. It's like-like soccer in the Muggle world-everyone follows Quidditch-played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls-sorta hard ter explain the rules."**

**"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"**

**"School Houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but-"**

Tonks looked insulted. Hagrid looked unashamed. "I wasn' finished. I was gonna say 'but they're a good lot.'"

Tonks smiled in approval.

**"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry gloomily.**

"Nothing wrong with that and we would have been glad to have you." said Madam Bones

**"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin." said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin.**

"I know two off the bat that weren't in Slytherin, but you didn't know that at the time, Hagrid." said Harry kindly.

**You-Know-Who was one."**

**"Vol-, sorry-You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"**

**"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.**

**They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of a postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from **_**Curses and Counter-curses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More) **_**by Professor Vindictus Viridian.**

"He didn't 'almost drag' me," said Harry defensively "He had to pick me up, toss me over his shoulder and carry me away from the book." The school laughed at the mental image.

**"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."**

"WE'LL HELP!" yelled the students.

**"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid.**

"And if you need to save your life, the Ministry will try to expel you." said Hermione viciously.

**"An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."**

**Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"),**

"I bought it two years later." said Harry with a slick smile.

**but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for it's horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).**

Snape stirred guiltily in his chair, Potter was interested in Potions._Damn, sorry Lily._

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again.**

**"Just yer wand left-oh yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."**

"You're so nice Hagrid." said Luna dreamily. Hagrid blushed.

**Harry felt himself go red.**

**"You don't have to-"**

"You deserve it, what did he get you anyway?" said Lupin curiously.

"You'll find out soon." said Harry, stoking Hedwig's feathers, who was now on a perch in front of the bowl.

**"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at-**

"Sorry Neville." said Hagrid shamefully.

Neville just smiled. "It's okay."

**an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze.**

Hermione blushed, all the times she brought Crookshanks, "Sorry Hagrid, I didn't know Crookshanks made you sneeze."

"It's alright" Hagrid smiled down to her. "He don't shed much."

**I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."**

**Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.**

"Aww! You're so sweet Harry." said twins mockingly.

"What made you choose her?" asked Parvati. Hermione and Ron sat forward in their chairs. Hagrid would always tell them this story, it was their favorite.

Harry sat up a little bit and focused most of his weight on Sirius' side. "Well, we went inside to pick out an owl when a middle-aged man brushed us aside. Mostly me, Hagrid can't be brushed by anyone. Hagrid had to catch me from falling into a box of owl pellets beside the door."

People flinched.

"Well, he was carrying a birdcage, with the most beautiful bird I'd ever seen. She was hooting and fluttering angrily, she wasn't happy, and neither was the man. He said that she was acting up and he didn't want to deal with her. The man behind the counter sighed and took the owl and gestured towards the man to pick something else. The man wanted his money back, but the shopkeeper wouldn't give it to him. Big sign said behind him 'no returns, exchanges only'. The man threw a flipping fit, he whipped out his wand and things around the store started to explode. Owls were zooming around, trying to peck at anything they could. The shopkeeper tried to repair the damage as the man continued to rant and rave. There was a black cage, tucked away in the back and the man magicked that open. The shopkeeper screamed that, that particular owl was a something like an attack dog. If anything else in that room was living, it was going to be owl food. The man laughed and left the store, before the owl could reach him."

"Hagrid tried to drag me out of the store, but I was trying to get to the Snowy owl, that the man had returned, out of the store. Cause that black owl decided that she was easy pickings and tried to get to her through the wooden bars. I looked towards the man, but his hands were busy trying to get all the other owls back into their cages. So I picked up a broom and smacked the black owl away from the Snowy, right into the wall."

The school cheered, Harry had to wait to for them to finish.

"I picked up her cage and ran to Hagrid. I was afraid that the owl would get up, and start trying to peck her again. The man finally settled down his owls and stuffed them into their cages. The man came behind the counter and threw a wicker basket down on the owl. In order to keep the basket down on the owl, he had to sit on it. He looked up to us, and did his best to make his voice sound normal, didn't work. He asked what we needed, I looked at the owl in the cage, I said this owl. He paled a little bit, told me that, she might not be the best owl for me, she was stubborn and too proud to deliver much of anything. I told him I didn't care, I wanted her. He sighed, shook his head and rang her up, with a significant discount for trying to help and getting caught up in all that, and that's how I got her." Harry said fondly.

"So you saved her?" said Dennis quickly.

"In a way, we've saved each other." said Harry quietly. Hedwig nipped his finger affectionately and rubbed her head into his hand.

**"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now-only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."**

**A magic wand...this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.**

"As does everyone." said Professor Flitwick.

**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.**

"Whose wand is that?" said Hermione interestingly.

"It was the first wand the Mr. Ollivander ever crafted." said Dumbledore.

**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.**

Albus and Alastor looked at each other again, he could sense this? Dumbledore would have to ask Harry to take a sensing test.

**"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.**

"I must have gotten there after you left, Harry, because the chair was broken when we arrived." said Seamus.

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.**

**"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.**

**"Ah, yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."**

"First wand?" asked Harry. Sirius looked down at him,

"Your mom had a bit of an accident in her third year. A Slytherin girl tried to get the best of her in a duel, your mom beat her hands down, but that little twit ran up to your mom and ripped the wand out of her hands and stamped on it."

"Sore loser." said Harry bemusedly.

"Yeah, Bellatrix always was a sore loser." said Lupin coldly.

"Bellatrix Lestrange?" said both Harry and Neville.

"Yeah, she was always jealous of your mom, your mom was prettier, more popular, better at potions, better duelist, everything. Always pissed her off." said Sirius fondly.

"When Sirius found out in our third year that Lily always managed to whip Bella in everything that had to deal with magic, he ran up to her and kissed her full on the lips."

"Bet she loved that." said Harry with a grin.

"Slapped me so hard that I flew backwards and landed on top of James." said Sirius rubbing his right cheek and chin. "I still can't smile right." The girls in the room started to giggle.

**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.**

**"Your father, on the other, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it-it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."**

**Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.**

"That man likes to invade personal space doesn't he?" said Ron.

**"And that's where..."**

**Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger.**

**"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands...well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..."**

**He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid.**

**"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again...Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"**

"Sixteen inches? That is one big wand!" said Colin.

"Hagrid's bigger than other people, he would need a bigger wand than most people." said Hermione.

**"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.**

**"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.**

"He hates it when one of his wands gets snapped." said Dumbledore.

**"Er-yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.**

**"But you don't **_**use**_** them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.**

**"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.**

**"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now-Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"**

**"Er-well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.**

**"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head.**

"What is the point of measuring you, when you just wave a wand or two?" said Draco.

"The measuring lets Ollivander narrow down the list of possible wand combinations. How it does is beyond my scope of knowledge. What do you think?" said Dumbledore and directing the question towards Harry.

People looked at him, what _was _his take on it?

"I'm not too sure, but I think he's measuring the aura and the pulsating of power from the spiritual core."

**As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter, We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such a good results with another wizard's wand."**

Neville looked nervously down at his father's wand, he didn't want a new wand, but if this was why spells weren't working for him, then maybe he should give a new wand a chance.

**Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils,**

"That made me rethink the whole core theory I had." said Harry with a smile.

**was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.**

**"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible.**

"Oi! That's mine!" cheered Colin excitedly. He was thrilled that his hero had tried his wand.

**Just take it and give it a wave."**

**Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.**

**"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try-"**

**Harry tried-but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.**

**"No, no-here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy.**

"That one is mine!" said Blaise with his eyebrows raised.

**Go on, go on, try it out."**

**Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair,**

"How many wands did you try?" asked Bill

"Fifty-six." said Harry.

Dumbledore whistled, "That is a lot of wands, You must have been very difficult to find one to be compatible with your core."

**but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.**

**"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere-I wonder, now-yes, why not-unusual combination-holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches nice and supple.**

Harry smiled and caressed his wand, in his cloak, and then the smile faded. _Twin cores, shit! They're gonna find out. Don't know if that is good or not._

**Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework,**

"Gryffindor colors!" hollered Dean.

"Phoenix colors." corrected Dumbledore. "The wand, when first wielded, will throw colors that symbolizes the core. Unicorn's are silver and white and Dragon's are red and green."

**throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well...how curious...how very curious..."**

**He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious...curious..."**

**"Sorry," said Harry, "but **_**what's**_** curious?"**

**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.**

**"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather-just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother-why, its brother gave you that scar."**

**Harry swallowed.**

So did people in the Hall, Sirius and Remus looked between the two of them and then the teen that was stretched a crossed the both of them. Harry merely kept his eyes closed, ignoring them.

**"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember...I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter...After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things-terrible, yes, but great."**

**Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand,**

"Why was his wand so expensive?" asked Hermione. She and Ron only paid twelve Sickles for their wands.

"Mr. Ollivander sets the price by how rare the wood is, how long it took to make the wand and how difficult it was obtaining the core." said Dumbledore. He then leaned over to Harry, beckoning him forward. He whispered in Harry's ear. "It took Ollivander thirty years to convince Fawkes and I to give him a feather. He was amazed that Fawkes gave him two."

Harry laughed.

**and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.**

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station;**

"One of the people from the Underground ran up behind me and ripped Hedwig's cage out of my arms. Yelling something about animal cruelty and some bird society. Then he flung the cage door open. Hedwig wasn't happy, she started pecking him and scratching him. It was real funny, actually." laughed Harry. "Surprised the hell out of him when she came and landed on my shoulder."

People around the school laughed as well, they knew that you didn't come between her and Harry. Hedwig was very possessive of her owner.

**Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder.**

**"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves." he said.**

**He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.**

"I can imagine." said Lupin.

**"You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.**

**Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life-and yet-he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.**

**"Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last.**

"You are special, Harry, very special." said Lupin, rubbing Harry on the head.

**"All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander...but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry-I mean, the night my parents died."**

**Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.**

**"Don' worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts-I did-still do, 'smatter of fact."**

**Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope.**

**"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts," he said. "First o' September-King's Cross-it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursley, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me...See yeh soon, Harry."**

"I know, I know, I fergot ter tell him how to get on the train. Train he was on was leavin'"

**The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid was gone.**

"Aww, Harry, you're so cute!" squealed Katie.

Then a bright flash of light came from the book in Hermione's hands. A scroll appeared, once again from the book.

"What the hell is that?" said Harry, he was staring at the scroll.

"It's a Recollection Scroll, Harry. This is how we knew about that time you landed in the hospital. I hope to God that this one is a good one." said Sirius.

The hall was smothered in a blanket of light.

"This didn't happen last time!" yelled Fred. The whole room whited out.


	10. Chapter 10

So here's chapter ten, as you can probably tell, it's a memory chapter, which means the next chapter will be up almost immediately! Let the story begin!

XOXOXOXOXO

The light had deposited them in the middle of a locker room, and the girls quickly covered their eyes, for this was a boys locker room. They however needn't had worried, for all the boys were clothed from at least the waist down. There were about thirty boys, ages varying from seven to thirteen changing into what looked like track outfits, but there were several different colors that the boys were dressing in. They looked around and saw a small black haired boy tying his laces on a bench. He had giant round glasses now, but they could tell that less than a year had passed since the last event the scroll had showed them. Harry leaned on his cane and walked over to the small boy and stared.

"This is so weird." he whispered.

"You're telling us." said Ron.

"What time is this supposed to be, Harry?" asked Dennis looking a little nervous. "Is this a bad memory, like last time?"

"Actually, this is the first track meet I had. I'm seven years old here, and no, this is a good one. Very good one actually." said Harry looking around quickly.

"How do you know how old you are here?" asked Zacharias, not believing that Harry could be as smart as he demonstrated to be.

"I'm seeing people that haven't taken part in this thing since I was seven. They were just turning thirteen, and once you hit that age, you get disqualified for these. You need to sign up for the Senior races and an easier way I know what age I am, is by the colors." said Harry.

"What colors?" asked Neville.

"The colors of the track shirts we all are wearing. Every age group has a different color. If your seven, see me, I'm in blue. Eight you wear green, nine you wear red, ten you wear yellow, eleven you wear white, twelve you wear orange and thirteen you wear black." he said pointing to a different boy in turn.

Without a warning, a man wearing a whistle came in with a lady with a clipboard and several people who went passed the two official looking people and went to go stand by what appeared to be their children.

"You'd think they would knock." said Charlie warily.

"We had twenty minutes to change." said Harry.

"Alright boys, we're all set for you, now I want you to remember. Do your best, you're all winners here and make your parents proud." Now I want to do a quick roll, just to make sure you are all still here. Let's start with the youngest age group." he said nodding to the lady with the clipboard.

"Blue group! Seven year olds: Addelton! Cummings! Kingster! Narwins! Potter!"

Young Harry raised his hand and The Watchers cheered so loudly that the last three names were drowned out. Harry looked at them with one eyebrow raised.

"You know I can't hear you right?" he said trying not to laugh.

"We're cheering now. Makes us feel better. You should have seen us the last memory, worst experience of my life. Deal with us getting excited, you said it was a good memory." said Sirius, looking quite excited. Harry just smiled at them, but the cheering stopped for they noticed something odd. Everyone else in the room was surrounded by their mother or father or both. Harry was alone.

"Didn't anyone come to cheer for you?" asked Hermione nervously.

"Yeah, three people did." said Harry happily.

"WHAT? THE DURLSEY'S ACTUALLY CAME? shouted Bill in disbelief.

"Nope, not the Durselys." said Harry with a large smile.

"Alright boys. This is your first race here, do your best like I said. Don't be intimidated by the older guys, they've been through this before. Alright, you guys can go on out." said the Man with the whistle.

Younger Harry left with the rest of the boys, but fell to the back of the line. The Watcher's followed him down the hall out into the large track field. People were still filling the stands, but three people were walking towards the younger version of Harry.

"Hey, kid!" yelled an older man, his wife on his arm. Both Harrys looked over to the man, the younger Harry beamed, and the older one paled but had a small smile.

"Officer McFinn!" shouted younger Harry and whispered older Harry. The Watchers turned to look where both Harry's were looking. There stood the officer from the last Recollection Scroll, a woman they never saw before, and the Emergency Room doctor. The younger Harry rushed to the man and his wife. The officer patted his head kindly and his wife hugged him tightly.

"You remember Dr. Clark don't you? I told him that I got you set up for this and he wanted to see you run as well." he said gesturing towards the same doctor from the last Recollection Scroll.

"Hello Dr. Clark!" said Harry brightly. Dr. Clark patted Harry on the head.

"How are you feeling today, Harry?" asked the doctor.

"Fine sir, just fine!" said Harry happily.

"You all set to win all the races, Sport?" said the officer with a grin.

"Now Jim, they're supposed to do their best, winning isn't everything." scolded his wife gently.

"I know, I know, but I've got a feeling this boy's spirit is going to whip them all." he said winking down at the small boy.

"James," said Dr. Clark "You do realize that he hasn't been out of physical therapy for longer than three weeks? I can't even believe you signed him up for this."

"He needs the fresh air, besides you've been practicin' running, haven't you lad?"

"Yes, sir! Every day, Officer McFinn was timing me!" said the younger Harry happily.

"Did say _James_?" said Sirius.

Harry nodded, "That was Officer McFinn's first name." Sirius looked intently at Officer McFinn and a small smile was placed on his lips.

"He really cares about you." said Ginny softly to the present Harry. She took a light hold of his hand.

"All three of them did, I did everything I could to make them proud." said Harry quietly.

"What happened to Dr. Clark?" asked Percy. "Do you still keep in touch with him?"

"No, he's gone as well." said Harry almost silently, tears forming in his eyes. "He was sent to be a military doctor, somewhere, he never came back."

"But he could come back!" said Lavender trying to keep optimistic.

"He was reported 'Missing in action.' Chances of him coming back are slim to almost none. I've never given up, but my hope is slipping." said Harry sadly. Dumbledore and Moody saw a few tears fall from his eyes as he looked down.

Dumbledore whispered to Moody, "Let's see what two old wizards can do." Moody nodded.

Ginny took and placed an arm around Harry's middle and gave him a supportive hug.

"ATTENTION, WILL THE PARTICIPANTS GATHER ON THE STARTING LINE FOR THE WARM UP RUN?" called the loudspeaker over the crowds.

"HOLY CATS! WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT?" asked Draco in shock.

"A muggle version of the Sonorous charm." said Hermione with a smile.

"Well, you'd best run off and get warmed up Harry. Don't use your speed here, now, save it for the races." said Dr. Clark excitedly.

Younger Harry nodded and hurried off. Some of The Watchers made to follow him but stopped short when they heard Officer McFinn's wife speak.

"I wish we could raise him. Oh Jim, isn't there anything we could do?" she implored to her husband. He scratched his gray haired head.

"Trust me, Holly, Sam and I have tried everything to save that poor little guy from those monsters. That dumb ass of a judge thinks that the monsters were innocent of the abuse. That's what we get for appointing a judge that's still wet behind the ears. The District Attorney told me to leave it be."

"Why would he do that?" said Mrs. McFinn in shock.

"Dursley threatened to sue the police department for harassment. They wanted me to keep away from Harry as well, said I was inappropriate with him."

"Where do they live? I'll shoot them myself." hissed Mrs. McFinn. Older Harry took a step back in shock, with a faint smile on his face.

"Never heard her talk like that before." he whispered, almost laughing.

"I proved to child-services that I wasn't, took a lie detector test and had them watch on a day of their choice. They approved my spending time with him. They're labeling it as something called "Sons Without Fathers" program or something. Only difference is that I can sign him up for stuff that the Dursley's won't. I just have to have him home by six every night."

"He's seven years old, I would think that he could stay out till seven or eight at least." said Sam Clark.

"Harry's the cook at that house, they need him home in time to cook dinner, and I don't get him until his chores are done. A regular little 'Cinderella' life he leads."

"Too bad there isn't a royal ball anytime soon." said Mrs. McFinn sadly.

"Royal Ball?" asked Ron.

"Hermione and I will tell you the story later." said Harry quickly to Ron, stopping Hermione.

All of The Watchers walked alongside the McFinns and Dr. Clark and stood beside the sidelines. younger Harry was running around the large running track, he was the only blue-shirted runner towards the front of the line. The blue, green and red runners were all in the back of the group and trying hard to keep up.

When the warm up lap was over, younger Harry walked over to The Watchers and the McFinns.

"Here's some water dear." said Mrs. McFinn handing him a large bottle of water from the ice cooler she had brought.

"Thanks Mrs. McFinn!"

"I thought I told you not to pour on your speed too early." said Dr. Clark with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't." said Harry simply.

Dr. Clark looked skeptical. "What races are you doing?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Well, I'm in all three sprints, the hundred, the two-hundred and the four-hundred meters. Then I am doing the three kilometer long distance." said Harry ticking the different races off his fingers.

"THREE KILOMETER? You are going to do the three kilometer?" said Dr. Clark with his jaw hanging. A few Watchers said the same thing and had the same appearance.

"Yes sir." said Harry nervously.

Dr. Clark stared at him, then he looked at Officer McFinn.

"Did you give an okay on that?" he whispered to him dangerously.

"He wanted to do it, I wasn't all that keen on the idea myself. But, he showed some persistence, asking me if he could do it every single time I came to pick him up."

The Doctor sighted. "Too late to back out now isn't it? Fine, but you pull out the moment you feel you can't take it anymore you got me?"

"Yes sir, I will." said Harry eagerly.

"WILL THE BLUE SQUAD PLEASE REPORT TO THE STARTING LINE FOR THE HUNDRED METER RACE?"

"Judging by your shirt Sport, that's you. Do your best lad!" said Officer McFinn giving Harry a pat on the back.

"Yes sir!" he said happily and ran off, waving to the three of them.

"Blue squad?" asked Lupin.

"The races are ran in the age groups, then the winners are then taken and placed in a the finals."

"This is an all-day event, isn't it?" asked Fred.

"It's eight thirty four right now." said Harry looking up at the sky.

"That is crazy how you do that, you know?" said Neville blinking up at the sun.

They watched as younger Harry positioned himself on the starting blocks with the other children lined up beside him. They all looked heavier than he did by at least twenty pounds. But Sirius wasn't looking at the size of his godson compared to the other children. He was looking at Harry's eyes. He saw a spark there that he had never seen before. The same look he had seen in a horse when it was about to run.

The starting gun went off and the boys went sprinting down the track. At first the children were neck and neck, but like a bullet shot out of a gun, Harry came right up to the front and led the way by at least a meter. The Watchers and the McFinns were jumping up and down excitedly. They all were screaming "GO HARRY! YOU CAN DO IT, GO! " and the McFinns and Dr. Clark were shouting "ATTA BOY! WAY TA GO!" They watched as Harry crossed the finish line, a good three seconds ahead of the rest of them.

The older Harry was standing beside them silently, he was smiling. Here was a memory he would have to try on a Patronus, just to see how strong it could be.

The scene shifted forward and they were standing beside the McFinns once again. This time, there were seven different kids in different colored shirts lining up on the starting line. Harry, in blue, was easiest the skinniest and smallest person amongst them, but when they looked at the time board, he had the fastest time.

"What is that thing up there with your name on it?" asked Neville.

"It tells people how fast they ran." said Harry quickly.

The gun went off and The Watchers all shouted in excitement as Harry took off like a shot. He was neck 'n neck with a black dressed boy, whose legs were almost as long as younger Harry's entire body. But Harry put a bit more speed on and was a few feet ahead of him when they crossed the finish line.

Sirius and Remus were jumping up and down and so were the Weasely children. The others were applauding as well but not nearly as loud. The only ones not joining in the excitement was Umbridge and Fudge. However, Fudge was trying very hard not to cheer on the small boy. Officer McFinn kissed his wife tightly and Dr. Clark clicked the heels of his own running shoes. Officer McFinn ran up to Harry as he was being congratulated by the rest of the blue squad and the other runners, picked him up and threw him into the air, then catching him as he came down.

"YOU DID IT SPORT! I KNEW YOU COULD!" he shouted placing him on his shoulder. Harry laughed and hugged the officer's head. Older Harry smiled, and he gripped his cane tightly. Oh, how he wished he could run again. This whole feeling, like he was being cursed with the Cruciatus curse every single time he moved, was getting to be too much to endure.

The same thing happened with every single sprint that he took part in, he was the best in his heat, and when it came time to do the finals, he would be fighting for the first place win against an older runner. But he always came out on top, one time, however it was a tie. They had to re-race quickly and Harry beat the twelve year old by half a second.

Sweat was pouring off younger Harry's face so much that Dr. Clark had to rush to the local store and buy him a towel. When the fifteen-hundred meter run was going on, which was designated thirteen year olds only, the McFinns and Dr. Clark wiped all the sweat off the boy's face and handed him cold bottles of water. Younger Harry took this time to rest up for the two-mile race, Mrs. McFinn came back with a picnic basket and she handed him a sandwich and more water. Harry laid down on the picnic blanket, and consumed his lunch.

"How are you feeling now, Harry?" asked Dr. Clark, taking a big bite out of a turkey and Swiss sandwich.

"Still great, sir! I can't wait till the next race." said Harry eating his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a bit of jelly was on his cheek. Mrs. McFinn dabbed the jelly away from his cheek gently.

"Now take your time with that one, Sport. You have a long time to race in that one. Don't push yourself to start with, take it slow. Wait till you are almost done to 'book it'." We'll keep track of the laps for you. When you run past, we'll tell you how many you have left to do. 'kay?" said Officer McFinn. Harry nodded.

"And remember, what I said, if you feel like you can't continue, just drop out. You've done really great today. Forget great, you've done brilliantly! I don't remember anyone under ten years old winning a complete sprint, let alone ALL of them." said Dr. Clark with broad smile.

The scene shifted once more, Harry was running with a group of larger boys. He looked a little tired again but he was still going strong. When he went past The Watcher's, who were about to start cheering when Officer McFinn and Dr. Clark bellowed out.

"LAST LAP HARRY!"

It was as if he had kicked on some internal after burners or something, because once those words left their lips, Harry began to sprint. He was fourth in line, but he began to overtake the other runners. When he flew past each one, they stared in shock and couldn't help but slow their own pace. He met up with the leader and slowly passed him just as he went turned the finally corner. The Watchers, Dr. Clark and the McFinns all jumped up and down, cheering for him. As Harry ran acrossed the finish line, Dr. Clark was the first to reach him and pull him into a great hug.

"THAT WAS AMAZING! YOU DID IT! YOU DID IT!"

"Hey, Doctor?" gasped Harry.

"What is it?" said Dr. Clark, holding arm's length.

"Now, I'm tired." panted Harry with a smile, Dr. Clark laughed. Officer McFinn picked him up and hugged him tightly. Mrs. McFinn kissed Harry on the cheek.

The Watchers were cheering, dancing in the people around them and challenging Harry to a race when he was all better. The light that had brought them there, began to form again. Most of the students groaned, they wanted to see more. As the white light enveloped them. They all could hear a whisper, clear as day. It was Officer McFinn.

"I'm so proud of you Harry."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

I've always really liked this chapter, even though it was a bit bittersweet... Anyways, next chapter will be up pretty soon, as I try to update as many times a day I can. Lowers the amount of chapters left significantly more than it would if I only posted a chapter a day!

Star✨✨


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